Metathe company behind Facebook and Instagram (and now Threads as well), has announced a significant change to its advertising policy for comply with the privacy regulations of the European Union: In Europe, it will ask for consent for tracking.
Meta will ask for consent to tracking in Europe
In a blog post, the company stated its “intention” to seek consent for targeted advertising, giving users the ability to deny behavioral advertising.
The company is currently the subject of an ongoing regulatory procedure regarding the serving of micro-targeted ads, which should have end around the middle of this month. However, he wanted to anticipate the times.
By allowing users to opt out of behavioral advertising, Meta seeks to align with EU privacy regulations and provide greater transparency and control for users. However, the blog post by Meta it does not give a specific date when will this change take place. The company only said it plans to make the change in the “coming months.”
Meta has tried to reassure advertisers that they will be able to continue to run “custom” advertising campaigns on its platform. This suggests that, despite the transition to the consent-based legal basis, the company is committed to maintain targeted advertising opportunities, but only with the explicit consent of the users.
A decision to respond to pressure from Europe
Meta’s decision comes in response to several pressures from European privacy authorities. The Norwegian data protection authority had imposed a temporary ban on Meta to publish behavioral ads without users’ consent. Other EU authorities could follow suit with similar bans if Meta does not comply quickly.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) declines to comment on Meta’s intention to move to consent for targeted advertising, as it is in a privacy oversight procedure in the EU. But for the experts who explained the situation to TechCrunch, the only choice left for Meta to operate legally is to offer users the option to opt out of behavioral advertising.
This option will be available to users in theEU, EEA and Switzerland, but not universally. US users, for example, won’t have this option. Consent for tracking in Meta is only needed in Europe.