The management of personal data and the associated regulation remains a topical issue for Meta, despite repeated promises from its leaders regarding the adoption of more compliant practices.
In January, Gafam was fined 390 million euros for non-compliance with the GDPR – and Apple 8 million. At issue: the use of targeted advertising to users of its services without obtaining prior consent.
Towards a real collection of consent
But if Meta is taking so long to comply, several years after the entry into force of the European regulation, it is because of the financial risks that compliance with consent poses to its model.
However, the firm risks seeing the regulatory bill become heavier if it fails to act. This would therefore propose, reports the Wall Street Journal, to rethink its consent collection system in order to collect a compliant authorization from its users.
On targeted advertising, defined according to interactions with the company’s applications, including videos and messages viewed, Meta would say that it is ready – after having exhausted the remedies – to implement its new system from the end of October.
The advertising giant would thus go well beyond these last concessions. Since April, Meta has allowed European users to opt out of targeted ads. These, however, have to go through a long form on its help pages.
Meta asks for a delay of at least 3 months
The complex procedure can be suspected of precisely aiming to limit the refusal of targeted advertising as much as possible. However, it does not fully meet the requirements set by the GDPR in terms of obtaining consent.
However, collecting explicit consent is a business risk for Meta. However, Europe represents a major market for the digital player. In the 2nd quarter, it generated 23% of its advertising revenue.
The American company will therefore no doubt endeavor to define a process that is as unfavorable as possible to its financial interests. According to WSJ sources, Meta would have taken at least three months to implement its new consent collection system. A delay justified by the complexity of such an evolution.