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- The EU hates Meta's surveillance ads (and doesn't want it done through paywalls)
The EU hates Meta's surveillance ads (and doesn't want it done through paywalls)
Meta is facing fresh heat in Europe about its core business model: targeted ads based on user data.
Athanasios Rantos, an Advocate General, recently stated that EU privacy laws should limit how long companies like Meta can store user data for targeted ads.
This hurts Meta's business model, which relies on building detailed profiles of users to target highly specific ads.
Consumer rights groups in Europe are also putting more pressure. They claim Meta collects far more data than necessary, including sensitive information like users' emotional state or addictions according to CNN.
They further argue that users are not given a genuine choice regarding their data – either they consent to surveillance-based ads or pay a monthly subscription fee to remove ads.
Consumer groups see it as an unfair and misleading practice, forcing users to pay to escape data collection.
The EU's Data Protection Board (EDPB) also said that companies cannot force users to choose between paid services and data-driven advertising.
The stakes are high as Meta has over 408 million active users in the EU. Consumer groups claim this data collection is "illegal" and involves hundreds of millions of users.
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