Adtech giants like Meta must give EU users real privacy choice, says EDPB | TechCrunch
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has issued new guidance that will have significant implications for adtech giants like Meta and other large platforms. The guidance, which focuses on the interpretation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), emphasizes the risks associated with a "consent or pay" model. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been forcing users in the EU to agree to tracking and profiling or pay a monthly subscription for ad-free access. However, the EDPB notes that this binary choice is problematic and creates an imbalance of power between individuals and data controllers. The Board stresses the importance of giving users a real choice and ensuring they understand the implications of their decisions. The guidance further states that large online platforms should consider offering free alternatives that do not involve extensive data processing for behavioral advertising. While the opinion does not completely rule out the possibility of charging for non-tracking alternatives, it encourages platforms to prioritize privacy-safe ad-supported offerings. The EDPB's intervention is expected to make it more difficult for adtech giants like Meta to continue operating under privacy-hostile choices. EU data protection regulators will likely challenge these platforms to provide less invasive alternatives. Privacy rights nonprofit noyb believes that Meta can no longer rely on the "pay or okay" approach, although they feel that the EDPB's opinion does not go far enough in condemning this practice as illegal. The EDPB plans to develop further guidelines on consent or pay models in the future, which will be closely watched by the media industry, as news publishers were early adopters of this controversial tactic.