EDPO (European Data Protection Office)’s Post

Advertising broker #Xandr (a Microsoft subsidiary) collects and shares the personal data of millions of Europeans for detailed targeted advertising. This allows Xandr to auction off advertising space to thousands of advertisers. But: although only one ad is ultimately shown to users, all advertisers receive their data. ➡ This may include personal details concerning their health, sexuality or political opinions. ➡ Also, despite selling its service as “targeted”, the company holds rather random information: the complainant apparently is both a man, a woman, employed and unemployed. ➡ This could allow Xandr to sell ad space to multiple companies who think that they are targeting a specific group. ➡ As if that were not enough, Xandr does not comply with a single access request. noyb has now filed a GDPR complaint. #noyb #Xandr #Advertising https://lnkd.in/ei8EtFKw

🚨 noyb has filed a complaint against the advertising broker Xandr (a Microsoft subsidiary)! 👉 Xandr collects and shares the personal data of millions of Europeans for detailed targeted advertising. This allows the company to auction off advertising space to thousands of advertisers. But: although only one ad is ultimately shown to users, all advertisers receive their data. This may include personal details concerning their health, sexuality or political opinions. 👉 Also, despite selling its service as “targeted”, the company holds rather random information: the complainant apparently is both a man, a woman, employed and unemployed. This could allow Xandr to sell ad space to multiple companies who think that they are targeting a specific group. 👉 As if that were not enough, Xandr reports an astonishing 0% response rate to access and erasure requests in 2022. Xandr even publishes these internal statistics on a hidden website (https://lnkd.in/dGZAJSKv) for everyone to see. 👉 noyb has now filed a GDPR complaint with the Italian data protection authority (Garante) regarding transparency issues, the right of access and the use of inaccurate information about users. Overall, Xandr appears to be in breach of Article 5(1)(c) and (d), Article 12(2), Article 15 and Article 17 of the GDPR.

How much is your personal #data worth to Meta? The company is planning to charge users in the EU £11 per month for an ad-free version of Instagram or Facebook. Meta is under pressure in the EU to obtain people's consent before using their personal information to target ads at them. Meta makes its money from advertising so this involves a huge shift in its business model. The charge is expected to come into effect in November. #privacy #GDPR #CCPA #DataProtection #AdTech #SurveillanceCapitalism https://lnkd.in/ebhsFC5K

What will be really interesting about this decision is the data Meta collects on whether users opt-in or opt-out -- Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are such huge platforms that switching to consent as a basis of processing for behavioral advertising, even if only limited to Europe, would almost serve as a referendum on public feelings about -- and attention to -- the use of personal data by social media companies. (Not that I anticipate Meta making this data public 😁.) #meta #facebook #noyb #consent #gdpr #privacy #dataprotection #optin https://lnkd.in/e76QEZRC

"Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is considering charging users in the EU €13 (£11) a month to access an ad-free version of Instagram or Facebook on their phones, as the company grapples with regulatory pressure on how it uses people’s data. Meta is also weighing a €17 charge to use Instagram and Facebook without adverts on desktop, according to sources close to the discussions. Accessing both apps on smartphones would cost about €19 a month. The social media company is considering the charges after a July ruling by the European court of justice, the highest in the EU. The Luxembourg-based court stated that under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Facebook cannot justify using personal details to target people with personalised ads – its core means of earning money from operating the platform – unless it receives their consent first." #GDPRandNonEUcompanies #EDPObrussels #EUrepresentative #DataProtection #UKrepresentative #EDPOuk #UKGDPR #EUGDPR #GDPR #Meta #Facebook #Instagram #Advertising #TargetedAds #Privacy Subscribe to EDPO's newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/dwK8sde *This article was not written by EDPO. The opinions and views of the author(s) do not necessarily represent those of EDPO. https://lnkd.in/e3GVAiR4

🔥Meta expressed its intention to change a legal basis for processing personal data of Facebook and Instagram users from the EU, EEA and Switzerland for behavioral ads from "legitimate interest" to "consent." We continue following a very interesting story with Meta: we recently posted about changing a legal basis from "performance of a contract" to "legitimate interest" in Meta's WhatsApp and suggested that this was not the end of the story: https://lnkd.in/ehQTsCr6. Meta announced the switch to "consent" against the backdrop of a temporary ban⛔ on behavioral advertising on #Facebook and #Instagram, imposed in July by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) in a ruling that it violated the GDPR by using "legitimate interest" to process personal data for those purposes: https://lnkd.in/dtZJUHz3. 👉Datatilsynet provided a balancing test in the detailed decision, and its result was not in Meta's favor: https://lnkd.in/eJxnJtx9. ❗We always recommend using "legitimate interest" extremely carefully and always backing it up with a documented balancing test. We will keep track of the further developments of this story, the origin of which you can read in the article by Alexey Ivanov: https://lnkd.in/eic2bcbT. 📣If you need assistance in determining the appropriate legal basis for processing personal data, we at ESPE will be happy to help: legal@especg.com��, https://especg.com/, www.especg.com. #meta #facebook #datatilsynet #gdpr #gdprcompliance #dataprivacy #edpb #noyb #success #ESPE

I would say that finally, after over five long years of being in force, it seems that the GDPR is making some very noticeable change into the way we behave online. Some may say, that this is a downgrade since it involves paying for a service which has been largely available for the last 15 years for free. However, to those of us I would remind that one key saying - if you are not paying for it, you are the product. Also, importantly, it seems that they will build the functionality as a choice - pay for the service with your money or your personal data so whoever wants to continue as before can do it and whoever prefers to pay with currency - they would be able to do it. It would give real choice to people. And this is what the GDPR is about - providing people with control over their own personal information. In a nutshell, I applaude Meta if they take their platform that way. #GDPR #Meta

"Meta is facing a call from lawmakers in the European Union to scrap its controversial 'consent or pay' tactic on Facebook and Instagram.   Currently, the company demands a per-account fee of €9.99/month on web or €12.99/month on mobile for users in the region wanting to avoid its tracking. No other choice is offered — meaning users wanting to continue accessing the two mainstream social networks for free are forced to accept a total loss of their privacy.   However in an open letter, members of the European Parliament accuse Meta of manipulating users by offering a 'false choice' between paying for an ad-free subscription or consenting to ongoing tracking and profiling through its surveillance-based ad targeting. The letter is addressed to Nick Clegg, the company’s president of global affairs — himself a former Brussels-based lawmaker — and has been signed by 36 MEPs, with representation spanning progressive, left-leaning and center/center-left political parties." #GDPRandNonEUcompanies #EDPObrussels #EUrepresentative #DataProtection #UKrepresentative #EDPOuk #GDPR #UKGDPR #EUGDPR #Meta #consentorpay #facebook #instagram   Subscribe to EDPO's newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/dwK8sde   *This article was not written by EDPO. The opinions and views of the author(s) do not necessarily represent those of EDPO. https://lnkd.in/dnJTm7bu

📣 Big Moves by Meta! 🌍 According to recent insights (for more details, check out the full article below!), #Meta is contemplating introducing paid versions of #Facebook and #Instagram for users in the European Union. This ad-free experience could be seen as a response to regulatory challenges and signifies a potential shift in how tech is experienced across the US and Europe due to governmental policies. While the free versions with ads will still be available, the introduction of a paid tier could reflect the changing landscape, especially in Europe, due to data privacy rules and other regulations. This decision, if official, would raise many questions in my opinion, not only of a legal nature but also ethical. #TechNews #DigitalTransformation #EURegulations #DataPrivacy #GDPR #DigitalServicesAct #DigitalMarketsAct https://lnkd.in/dySBUiYA

😲 Meta's Behavioral Advertising Ban ❌ Norwegian DPA bans #Meta from running behavioral advertising in #Norway 👉 The Norwegian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has banned Meta from running behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram in Norway. 👉This is the first time that a national data protection authority has banned behavioral advertising. 👉The ban means that Meta can no longer track users' activity across the internet and use that data to target them with ads. For advertisers, this means that they will have to find new ways to target their ads. For users, this means that they will have more control over their privacy. 👉The DPA's decision is a victory for privacy advocates and could have implications for other countries. What do you think of the decision? Share your thoughts in the comments below. #privacy #dataprotection #behavioraladvertising #Meta #Facebook #NorwegianDPA #GDPR #victoryforprivacy #implicationsforadvertising