The EU’s Data Protection Board (EDPB) has told large online platforms they should not offer users a binary choice between paying for a service and consenting to their personal data being used to provide targeted advertising.
In October last year, the social media giant said it would be possible to pay Meta to stop Instagram or Facebook feeds of personalized ads and prevent it from using personal data for marketing for users in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland. Meta then announced a subscription model of €9.99/month on the web or €12.99/month on iOS and Android for users who did not want their personal data used for targeted advertising.
At the time, Felix Mikolasch, data protection lawyer at noyb, said: “EU law requires that consent is the genuine free will of the user. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a ‘privacy fee’ of up to €250 per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection.”
Glad to see honest and sensible take on this.
I’m happy about the GDPR but I have my doubts about all the fines of cases versus big tech in the past. Those fines are peanuts for big tech, and where is the money of those fines going ? To protect Fortress Europe or what ? To keep paying Microsoft, Google and other cloud licenses ? It is unbelievable that some organizations in this year 2024 still come up with arguments that “there is no better offer” or “no choice” and then move parts or the complete of their IT into the cloud of USA corporations. Worrying especially given the risk that Donald Trump will be back in power. “Digital sovereignty” is a word that has been wiped from the vocabulary since years in Europe.