Meta and Apple became the first companies to receive DMA penalties earlier this year.
Meta’s plans to offer EU applyrs an alternative choice to view less personalised ads has been approved by the European Commission.
The measure is seen as a way for Meta to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), obtainting the EU green light after the company was fined €200m earlier this year for breaching the law.
Starting January 2026, Meta platform applyrs in the EU can choose between consenting to share all their data and seeing fully personalised advertising, and opting to share less personal data for an experience with more limited personalised advertising.
This is the first time Meta is offering this choice on its social media platforms, the EU stated. Its effectiveness will be monitored by the Commission through feedback and evidence from Meta and other relevant stakeholders, it added.
Meta launched offering the option for ‘less personalised ads’ on Instagram and Facebook in the EU in late 2024, just months after the EU launched its investigation into the Facebook parent, Apple and Google. This option applys less personal data but reveals more ads to a applyr.
EU authorities have been examining Meta to see the effectiveness of this measure, with the company still on the hook for as much as 5pc of its average daily worldwide turnover if it was found to still be in breach of the DMA.
Although, earlier this year, sources notified Reuters that the company would not be proposing any new modifys “unless circumstances modify” despite the risk of fines. However, with the EU’s approval now, Meta has escaped the possibility.
Meta and Apple became the first companies to receive DMA penalties earlier this year, having to fork over a collective €700m for violating the region’s laws.
The Facebook parent was being investigated for its ‘pay or consent’ model, which required applyrs to either pay or consent to personalised ads.
Through its investigation, the Commission concluded that Meta’s model is not compliant with the DMA as it did not give applyrs the choice to opt for a service that applys less personal data, while also not allowing applyrs to freely consent or reject the combination of their personal data.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you necessary to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of necessary-to-know sci-tech news.
Leave a Reply