Meta, the social media giant, has made a proposal to obtain consent from all European users before gathering their data for targeted advertising purposes. This move is an effort to resolve a year-long dispute with the European Union regarding the legality of its targeted ad operations.
While this change in policy could potentially have a negative impact on the effectiveness of Meta’s targeted ads, the company has reassured marketers that they will still be able to run personalized ad campaigns on the platform in Europe. This means that advertisers can continue to reach their target audiences despite the changes.
If a significant number of users in Europe decline to give consent for data collection, Meta will have fewer signals to identify their interests and behavior. This lack of data can weaken Meta’s targeted advertising operation, as it relies on audience insights. Consequently, marketers may choose not to advertise on the platform, which could decrease the value of Meta’s ad space.
According to Meta, obtaining consent would be a significant hurdle and implementing the necessary changes would take at least three months. This implies that Meta may need to seek permission to collect data from European users starting in October. However, the company has also proposed waiting until early next year to update its policy in line with upcoming EU regulations. The exact timeline has yet to be confirmed.
Meta’s decision to update its policy follows discussions with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, its lead privacy regulator. The commission provided substantial guidance, leading Meta to propose updating its consent policy to ensure compliance with EU laws.
To learn more about how Meta collects and stores data, you can refer to Meta’s privacy policy.
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