Platforms should not confront users with 'binary choice' over personal data use

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.”

  • RobotToaster@mander.xyz
    141·
    7 months ago

    The deal has always been that targeted advertising is how you pay for a free service.

    FTFY.

    The adverts on free websites for a very long time were not targeted.

    • pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online
      19·
      7 months ago

      Yes, they were except for the very early days of the internet.

      They might not have been as targeted, but they still absolutely used whatever data they had available to serve ads to people most likely to click on them.