The European Union’s privacy regulator has issued a ruling over social media sites Facebook and Instagram, landing them with a $411 million.
The Ireland Data Protection Commission has told Meta, the parent company of both platforms, that it is in violation of EU privacy law by requiring users to opt into personalized ads in order to use its services.
As a result, Meta has been fined $411 million.
When a user signs up for a Facebook or Instagram account, they are asked to agree to the platform’s Terms of Service, which includes a clause allowing the company to use their data for personalized advertising.
However, the EU regulator has determined that Meta cannot use these contracts to justify the display of personalized ads, and must instead offer users the option to opt-out of such ads in order to operate in the EU.
This ruling is a significant blow to Meta, as the company’s business model relies heavily on the collection of large amounts of user data and the use of targeted advertising to generate revenue.
Meta has announced that it plans to appeal the decision.
In addition to this lawsuit, Meta is also facing a similar legal challenge in the United States, where it is accused of circumventing users’ choices to opt-out of ad tracking using Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature. The outcome of these cases could have major implications for the future of personalized advertising and data collection by social media companies.
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