European officials extend ban on Meta’s behavioural advertising

European officials have extended a Norwegian ban on Meta’s processing of personal data for behavioural advertising to the entire European Economic Area (EEA).

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) said the “urgent binding decision” followed a request from Norwegian authorities to take action. Meta was notified of the decision that will take effect next week.

“It is high time for Meta to bring its processing into compliance and to stop unlawful processing,” EDPB chair Anu Talus said in a statement.

Behavioural advertising is when companies target ads based on a person’s online habits such as website browsing.

The EU’s privacy laws, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), outline specific conditions in which businesses are allowed to process personal data.

The reasons include legal obligations, saving someone’s life, the public interest, or having a person’s “unambiguous consent”.

Tobias Judin, head of the international section for the Norwegian data protection officials, said in a statement that they were putting their foot down against Meta’s lack of respect for the law.

The EU decision came after Norway’s data protection authority imposed a daily fine of 1 million Norwegian kroner (roughly €85,000) on Meta from August 14 over the targeted advertising.

Meta is contesting the Norwegian decision in court but did not immediately respond to Euronews Next’s request for comment.

New subscription service for Meta in Europe

Meta said earlier this week that it would offer a subscription service for people in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland to use Facebook and Instagram without ads.

Otherwise, they could use the platforms for free with “ads that are relevant to them”.

They said the subscription service would be offered starting in November to comply with European regulations.

It will cost €9.99/month on the web or €12.99/month on iOS and Android and will apply to all linked accounts, but from March of next year, the prices will rise for each account.

Meta’s social media platforms Facebook and Instagram have more than 250 million active users in the EU and EEA, according to Norway’s Data Protection Authority.

The company has previously come under fire in the EU over data protection. 

It was issued a €1.2 billion fine in May following an inquiry by the Irish Data Protection Authority. It was the largest fine under GDPR over Meta transferring personal data to the US.

Meta is also one of six tech giants subject to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect late last year.

The law imposes specific obligations on these large online platforms, such as allowing users to access the data they generate and prohibiting them from tracking users’ activity across the web.