Facebook's Targeted Ads Trouble in Europe

jetimo7695@pyad

Meta is facing a fine of 390 million euros and must adapt its targeted advertising service to regional laws.

Facebook faces many difficulties in Europe
Facebook faces many difficulties in Europe
On January 4, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was fined by the European data regulator with a total amount of 390 million euros. In addition, this company also needs to make fundamental legal adjustments to the advertising service targeting specific target audiences (Ad Targeting ), which is the "lifeblood" of Meta.

The fines were informed by the Irish Data Protection Denmark Phone Number List Commission, the governing body and the application of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Ireland.

This is the result of two independent investigations from 2018 into Meta into GDPR violations, as well as several Instagram violations.

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The figure of 390 million euros may not reflect Meta's problem properly. They will have three months to change the terms of their targeted advertising service after European Union regulators found that the model on Facebook and Instagram was invalid.



In particular, the European Union is finalizing a new set of rules to tighten advertising activities on the Internet.

The EU's decisions stem from complaints filed by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems in 2018. These complaints allege Meta lacks proper legal bases in its handling of its data. millions of European users.

From 2018, after the GDPR came into effect, companies using user data for advertising were forced to make an agreement, like a contract, with users for the right to mine their data. Schrems argues that Meta (then Facebook) forced users to provide information to the platform in exchange for use.

Mr. Schrems said that in the near future, Meta must come up with a version of the application that does not exploit users' data for advertising .

Currently, many tech giants are struggling to maintain advertising revenue, while still having to make sure they don't break the law. In 2022, TikTok will face similar difficulties in legalizing targeted advertising in Europe.

A spokesperson for Meta said the company was disappointed with the decisions. However, the company did not anticipate having to rely on user consent.

“We disagree with the final decision of the Data Protection Commission (DPC) and believe that Meta has complied with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by relying on regulations for advertising. Therefore, we will proceed with an appeal," a spokesperson for Meta said.

The Irish Data Protection Commission previously approved Meta moving privacy requirements from user consent to a legal basis in a draft in 2021. However, this draft was rejected by the Commission. European Data Protection (EDPB) refused.

In a press release on January 4, the Irish Data Protection Commission said it would file a lawsuit with the European Union Court of Justice to overturn the EDPB's directives. The Irish agency said the EDPB had exceeded the scope of the original case.