European Privacy Watchdog Criticizes Facebook and Instagram for Personalized Ads Strategy

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram may not require their users to follow them online in exchange for access to the platforms. This is what the European privacy watchdog EDPB says, which also includes the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

According to the regulator, large online platforms must offer a free option where you as a user are only tracked to a ‘limited extent’. You would then only see ads that are not based on your internet behavior.

These so-called contextual ads correspond to the content someone is currently viewing. A message about cats, for example, could contain an ad for cat food.

The EDPB’s ruling is a response to the choice that Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has been presenting to its users since last November.

From then on users can choose between a version with personalized ads, or a paid subscription where no personal data is used to provide targeted ads. That subscription costs around 13 euros per month. Without selection, the services can no longer be used.

Meta introduced this option shortly after the EDPB ruled last year that the way the company showed personalized ads violated European privacy rules. The company was ordered by the European regulator to stop personalizing ads based on users’ internet behavior.

After Meta introduced the new options, the European privacy watchdog announced a new investigation. Today, the EDPB says that it is “not currently a fair choice for consumers.

According to the regulator, users will actually have to ‘pay’ with their personal data. This is especially a problem if the subscription price is high.

Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, professor of ICT and Law at Radboud University, says the EDPB’s position is “sensible”. “The regulator may not only explain the law, but not come up with new laws. The law says that personal ads are only allowed with ‘valid permission’, which has been given voluntarily. But if it is difficult to avoid a platform, you may wonder how voluntarily that permission is given.”

A spokesperson for Meta comments in response to a decision by the European Court of Justice. “He said the subscription model is a legally valid way for companies to ask for permission for personalized ads. The EDPB advice will not change that view. The ad-free subscription complies with European law.”