Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, said it would appeal the regulator’s harsh punishment and the substance of the decision.
Meta has been fined €390m (£343m) by regulators for forcing users to agree to personalized advertising.
The fine was handed down by the Irish Data Protection Commission, which said the social media giant had breached EU privacy rules.
In addition to hefty fines, Meta is also prohibited from forcing users to sign in to these ads.
These promotions are based on other people’s online activities, allowing advertisers to target people who like their products and services.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has said it will appeal the fine and the substance of the ruling itself.
He added that the decision will not prevent targeted or personalized advertising on these platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
“The decision only relates to the legal basis that Meta uses when offering certain ads,” the spokesperson said.
The fine dwarfs the €225m (then £193m) fine handed down by Ireland’s watchdog to WhatsApp in 2021, when the company was found to have breached regulations relating to the transparency of data shared with other Meta companies.
The Irish Data Protection Commission issued such fines in its role as the main privacy regulator for many of the world’s largest technology companies in the EU.
The latest fine brings the total levied against Meta by the watchdog to €1.3bn (£1.1bn).
Reuters reports that the fines follow an EU directive last month on how social media companies run their advertisements.
This is related to the changes in the terms of service of Facebook and Instagram in 2018 after the introduction of new EU privacy regulations, where Meta seeks to rely on a legal basis called “contract” on how to handle advertising.
Before relying on the user’s explicit consent to process personal data for targeted advertising, and Meta considers accepting the updated 2018 terms as all clear to maintain the advertising.
A company spokesman said there was a “lack of regulatory clarity on this issue”.
The fine comes just a few weeks after Meta came under scrutiny for allegedly stealing ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Advertising analysis by consumer group Which? and research charity Demos found hundreds of paid promotions that refer to unregulated investment products, including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens.
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Source: Skynews.com
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