Current:Home > MyEuropean privacy officials widen ban on Meta’s behavioral advertising to most of Europe-VaTradeCoin
European privacy officials widen ban on Meta’s behavioral advertising to most of Europe
lotradecoin KYC verification process View Date:2024-12-25 23:46:25
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — European officials widened a ban on Meta’s “behavioral advertising” practices to most of Europe on Wednesday, setting up a broader conflict between the continent’s privacy-conscious institutions and an American technology giant.
Behavioral advertising, used by Meta’s Facebook and Instagram among many other tech companies, involves observing individual behavior such as browsing habits, mouse clicks and app usage, then using that data to build profiles for targeting ads.
The decision by the European Data Protection Board represents a sharp escalation of a tussle that began in Norway, where privacy officials imposed a daily fine of 1 million kroner (roughly $90,000) on Meta for obtaining that data without adequate consent. Those fines have been piling up since August 14.
Meta said it has cooperated with regulators and pointed to its announced plans to give Europeans the opportunity to consent to data collection and, later this month, to offer an ad-free subscription service in Europe that will cost 9.99 euros ($10.59) a month for access to all its products. The latest decision “unjustifiably ignores that careful and robust regulatory process,” the company said in a statement following the European board’s action.
Tobias Judin, head of the international section at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, said Meta’s proposed steps likely won’t meet European legal standards. For instance, he said, consent would have to be freely given, which wouldn’t be the case if existing users had to choose between giving up their privacy rights or paying a financial penalty in the form of a subscription.
“Meta’s business model is at odds with the law and users’ fundamental rights, and Meta will not back down willingly,” Judin said via email. “They continue with their unlawful activities to this very day, simply because breaking the law is so profitable.”
Meta has been under fire over data privacy for some time. In May, for example, the EU slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion fine and ordered it to stop transferring users’ personal information across the Atlantic by October. And the tech giant’s new text-based app, Threads, has not rolled out in the EU due to regulatory concerns.
Meta is also among the companies that the EU is targeting under new digital rules aimed at reining in the market power of tech giants. In addition to the Facebook owner, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet and TikTok parent ByteDance were classified in early September as online “gatekeepers” that must face the highest level of scrutiny under the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Markets Act.
veryGood! (357)
Related
- 'September 5' depicts shocking day when terrorism arrived at the Olympics
- James Lewis, prime suspect in the 1982 Tylenol murders, found dead
- The secret to upward mobility: Friends (Indicator favorite)
- Get a $120 Barefoot Dreams Blanket for $30 Before It Sells Out, Again
- Stock market today: Asian shares advance, tracking rally on Wall Street
- Chrissy Teigen Slams Critic Over Comments About Her Appearance
- Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds
- UFC Fighter Conor McGregor Denies Sexually Assaulting Woman at NBA Game
- ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class
- Utilities Have Big Plans to Cut Emissions, But They’re Struggling to Shed Fossil Fuels
Ranking
- Sabrina Carpenter Shares Her Self
- Charlie Sheen’s Daughter Sami Sheen Celebrates One Year Working on OnlyFans With New Photo
- New tax credits for electric vehicles kicked in last week
- How to keep your New Year's resolutions (Encore)
- Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single
- New tax credits for electric vehicles kicked in last week
- New York’s Heat-Vulnerable Neighborhoods Need to Go Green to Cool Off
- Utilities Have Big Plans to Cut Emissions, But They’re Struggling to Shed Fossil Fuels
Recommendation
-
A Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke, Cher
-
Tidal-wave type flooding leads to at least one death, swirling cars, dozens of rescues in Northeast
-
Camp Pendleton Marine raped girl, 14, in barracks, her family claims
-
How Buying A Home Became A Key Way To Build Wealth In America
-
What was 2024's best movie? From 'The Substance' to 'Conclave,' our top 10
-
Minimum wage just increased in 23 states and D.C. Here's how much
-
Clothes That Show Your Pride: Rainbow Fleece Pants, Sweaters, Workout Leggings & More
-
Inside Clean Energy: Tesla Gets Ever So Close to 400 Miles of Range