Article Highlights
It has to be said that the new year had barely begun before Meta, the parent company of the famous social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, got off to a rough start by being hit with a combined fine of 414 million dollars by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violating the European Union's (EU) privacy laws. According to the DPC's report, Meta breached the EU's privacy policy, which requires that platform users give their consent to personalized advertising. As a result, Meta has to pay approximately 223 million dollars for the violation on Facebook and roughly another 191 million dollars for the one on Instagram. What does the full story look like? Relevant Audience has gathered the details so we can find out together.
Was Meta Merely Accused, or Genuinely at Fault?
This marks the conclusion of a lengthy investigation by Ireland's data security and protection regulator that began on 25 May 2018, the very date the EU's GDPR law came into effect. All in all, it took nearly 5 years.
For anyone wondering what GDPR is, here's a simple explanation: GDPR is a regulation that helps protect the personal data of citizens in the European Union (EU). It has a direct impact on advertising businesses that collect customer data without consent, which is considered unlawful. In Thailand, there is a similar law known as the PDPA, which only came into force last year.
After GDPR came into effect, Max Schrems, an Austrian activist, filed a complaint against Meta for "forcing users to accept data collection for personalized ad targeting, known as Personalized Ads, in exchange for being allowed to use the platform" rather than giving users the choice of whether or not to consent. As a result, the DPC enforced the payment of the fine and ordered Meta to bring its data handling into compliance with the relevant law within 3 months.
Meta Filed an Appeal Immediately
Following the DPC's ruling, Meta promptly announced plans to appeal the decision, maintaining that the data protection approaches of both platforms fully comply with GDPR requirements and citing the reason that the DPC had not provided a sufficiently clear explanation of the provisions involved. In addition, Meta further stated that businesses and marketers can still run Personalized Ads campaigns on Instagram and Facebook as usual.
Final Thoughts
Of course, Meta has the legal right to appeal the DPC's ruling and will not be compelled to act on the decision until a final judgment is reached in court. If any further details emerge in the future, we promise to share them with you right away.
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