Behind this court decision, the European Union wants to force Meta to obtain the direct consent of its users before using their data for advertising purposes.
Meta is once again pinned for its management of personal data, with a record fine of 390 million euros imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which acts on behalf of the European Union.
A record fine for the American group, found guilty of violating the GDPR
The group led by Mark Zuckerberg had argued in its pitch that users accept the processing of their data and the sending of targeted advertisements contractually, by accepting the conditions of use of Facebook or Instagram when creating of their user account.
The DPC seemed, at first, to follow Meta’s opinion that the company did not violate the GDPR. Finally, he had to side with the three binding decisions taken by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), which represents all European regulators.
In detail, the first two cases concern the practices of Facebook, for a total fine of 210 million euros, and the last touch Instagram, for an amount of 180 million euros. Another complaint against WhatsApp is pending and the decision will be known next week.
The group thus failed in “its transparency obligations as underlined by the final decision taken by the DPC, with practices put in place on an erroneous legal basis and should have explicitly requested the agreement of its users before the creation of their user account.
A decision with serious consequences for Meta, whose advertising represents 98% of revenue
This decision could eventually overhaul the entire economic model that supports Meta. Targeted advertising indeed represented almost 98% of the group’s revenues in 2021, which amount to $118 billion in 2021, and its ambitions in the metaverse are today a drop in the bucket in its total turnover. .
The privacy association Noyb, which brought the three cases to court, welcomes this decision and hopes that this blow to the group’s finances, which are no longer in good shape, will have an impact on the consumer. ” Now you have to ask people if they want their data used for ads or not. They must have a “yes or no” option and can change their mind at any time. The decision also ensures a level playing field with other advertisers who must also obtain opt-in consent. “, declared Max Schrems, honorary president of Noyb.
The DPC requires the group to comply with court decisions within the next three months. However, Meta intends to appeal this decision and wishes to reassure its advertiser clients: “ These decisions do not prevent targeted or personalized advertising on our platform. The rulings relate only to the legal basis Meta uses to serve certain advertisements. Advertisers can continue to use our platforms to reach potential customers, grow their business and create new markets. »
While Meta remains involved in the creation of the metaverse, with investments of several billion dollars each year and the economic crisis which makes advertisers cautious, Meta will have to fight hard not to lose control of its juicy advertising system.
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