Meta Fined $414 Million in Europe

Meta Fined $414 Million

‘With great power comes great responsibilities’, Spiderman taught us. However, Meta needs to learn this the harder way! Meta fined $414 million in Europe, after EU regulators ruled that the company has been illegally forcing users to effectively accept personalised ads in its apps.

The social media giant will now have to make some serious changes to it’s targeted ads offering in Europe after Meta fined $414 million by EU.

The ruling, along with a fine of €390 million ($US414 million), could force Meta to restructure its current ad systems, and how it gains user permission for such within its apps. Effectively, the ruling suggests that Meta may need to get direct legal consent from each of its 408 million EU users in order to show them personalized ads – or it risks further fines for breaching the EU’s GDPR.

In the words of Meta –

“We strongly believe our approach respects GDPR, and we’re therefore disappointed by these decisions and intend to appeal both the substance of the rulings and the fines.”

“It’s important to note that these decisions do not prevent personalised advertising on our platform. The decisions relate only to which legal basis Meta uses when offering certain advertising. Advertisers can continue to use our platforms to reach potential customers, grow their business and create new markets.”

“The decisions do not mandate the use of Consent – another available legal basis under GDPR – for this processing. Similar businesses use a selection of legal bases to process data, and we are assessing a variety of options that will allow us to continue offering a fully personalized service to our users. The suggestion that personalized ads can no longer be offered by Meta across Europe unless each user’s agreement has first been sought is incorrect.”

Meta will now have three months to respond to the EU ruling, which, as Meta notes, will see it appeal, and potentially re-align its usage terms around another legal clause in the region. 

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