Meta Platform Inc is Prohibited from Running Ads Based on Personal Data from Users in the European Union

- Meta Platform Inc., prohibited from running advertisements based on personal data (photo: Twitter @meta)

JAKARTA - Meta Platform Inc., is prohibited from running ads based on personal data and will require user consent if you want to do so. According to a source familiar with the matter, Tuesday December 6, This was contained in a secret EU privacy watchdog decision.

Ireland's privacy regulator, which will issue the final decision, has been given one month by EU privacy watchdog the European Data Protection Council to do so. "The decision will likely include a hefty fine," the source said.

The decision was certainly a blow to the social network from the US. The Irish data protection agency, which oversees Meta as its European headquarters are located in Dublin, has been given one month to issue a decision based on a binding European Data Protection Council (EDPB) decision.

Big Tech's model of targeted advertising and how data is collected and used has attracted regulatory attention around the world.

Meta shares themselves were down 6.2% in mid-session trading. Google, Snap and Pinterest which rely on digital advertising, also fell 2.2%, 8% and 4%, respectively.

Ireland's case against Meta was sparked by a complaint by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems in 2018.

"Instead of having a yes/no option for personalized advertising, they just moved the consent clause in the terms and conditions. This is not only unfair but outright illegal. We are not aware of any other company trying to ignore the GDPR in such an arrogant way," Schrems said in a statement.

He said the EDPB decision means Meta will have to allow users to have versions of all apps that do not use personal data for advertising while companies will still be allowed to use non-personal data to personalize ads or only seek user consent.

The privacy rules of the 27-country block known as the General Data Protection Regulation came into force in 2018.

"The GDPR allows for multiple legal bases on which data can be processed, beyond consent or performance of a contract. Under the GDPR there is no hierarchy between these legal grounds, and neither is considered better than the other," a spokesperson for Meta told Reuters.

Apple's new privacy rules, which restrict digital advertisers from tracking iPhone users, are also a major blow to Facebook's parent company.

An EDPB spokesperson declined to provide details of the decision that was made. The agency said it stepped in after another national watchdog disagreed with the Irish agency's draft decision.

Its draft decisions on Facebook and Instagram, subsidiaries of Meta, focus on the legality and transparency of the processing of behavioral ads, while its decisions on WhatsApp concern the legality of processing for service improvement purposes.

"The DPC is unable to comment on the contents of the decision at this time. We have one month to adopt a decision binding on the EDPB and will then publish details," the Irish Data Protection Commission said.

“Meta may have to change its business model,” said Helena Brown, head of data & privacy at London-based law firm Addleshaw Goddard.

"The direction seems to be that European regulators will not allow Meta to hide behind 'providing services' as a basis for using personal data for behavioral advertising," he said.

"In contrast, Meta may need to change its approach to seeking clear and explicit consent. It will be a challenge for Meta to be able to describe its practice in a way that such consent can be valid and well-informed," said Brown.