Meta Platforms:Regulatory Environment: Difference between revisions

November 1, 2023: The European data protection regulators have approved a Europe-wide ban on the use of personal data of Facebook and Instagram users for targetted advertising. Greet Gysen, spokeswoman for the European Data Protection Board told Bloomberg that the Ireland’s Data Protection Commission now has two weeks to “impose a ban on the processing of personal data for behavioral advertising on the legal bases of contract and legitimate interest.” Meta said in a statement that the EDPB has been aware of its subscription model for weeks and that they have been engaged with them to arrive at mutually beneficial agreement but the ban “unjustifiably ignores that careful and robust regulatory process.” Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said its main focus now is to conclude “its detailed assessment of the consent-model.” The ban extends that imposed by Norway on Meta Pltaforms in November.

October 30, 2023: Meta introduces an ad-free subscription plan for Facebook and Instagram users in the EU, European Economic Area and Switzerland in order to comply with EU regulations on personalized ads. The subscription will cost 9.99 euros per month for web users and 12.99 euros per month for iOS and Android users and will apply to all linked Facebook and Instagram accounts in a user’s Accounts Center until March 1, 2024. From March 1, 2024, web will attract an additional fee of 6 euros per month while iOS and Android will charge an additional 8 euros each month for each additional account listed in a user’s Account Center. Meta said the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recognises that a subscription model like this is a valid form of consent for personalized ads. Meta said this subscription model was factored into its most recent business outlook and guidance<ref>https://about.fb.com/news/2023/10/facebook-and-instagram-to-offer-subscription-for-no-ads-in-europe/</ref>. “Acting in consultation with its fellow European supervisory authorities, the DPC has been engaged in a detailed regulatory assessment of the consent-based model since it was first proposed by Meta in July. That exercise is being led by the DPC, reflecting its position as Lead Supervisory Authority for Facebook and Instagram in Europe. The exercise has not yet concluded, and no findings have been made to date. It is due to be completed shortly, at which point the DPC will notify Meta if it considers that the manner in which its new user offerings are to be implemented is compatible with Meta’s obligations under GDPR,” Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) told Techcrunch<ref>https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/30/meta-ad-free-sub-eu/</ref>.

September 11, 2023: Meta starts implementing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in WhatsApp. WABetaInfo reports that a new android version of WhatsApp has a new screen called “third-party chats”, which enables users to receive messages from people using other messaging tools<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whatsapp-reluctantly-started-cross-platform-131350736.html</ref>.

September 5, 2023: Meta losses a Norwegian appeal case that sought to stop a fine of $93,200 per day starting from August 4 for collecting user data and using it in its targetted advertising. The daily fine is to run for 3 months. The rulling could have wider implications in europe as Datatilsynet, Norwey's data regulator, plans to refer it to the EU data regulator. "We are disappointed by today's decision and will now consider our next steps," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/norway-court-rules-against-facebook-093639467.html</ref>.

September 5, 2023: Meta Platforms among those designated as "gatekeepers" of online services by EU commission. Under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), companies with more than 75 billion euros in market capitalization and 45 million monthly active users are considered as "gatekeepers". Companies labelled as such will be required to make their messaging apps interoperate with that of rivals and allow users to decide which apps to pre-install on their devices. A fine of up to 10% of annual global turnover will be imposed on any company that violates the DMA act. The penalty can go up to 20% for repeated infringement. The "gatekeepers" will have six months to comply with the DMA obligations<ref>https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4328</ref>.

September 1, 2023: Meta is considering a paid version of Facebook and Instagram with no ads in Europe in order to combat privacy regulations, that's according to the New York Times. However, it doesn't plan to get rid of the free version of Facebook and Instagram. The New York Times did not indicate how much the new version will cost. Meta has not responded to a request for a comment<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-meta-may-allow-facebook-174004127.html</ref>.

August 29, 2023: According to data from Similarweb and Data.ai, the decision by Meta to block news links in Canada have had no impact on Facebook daily active users as well as time spent on the app. This supports Meta's assumption that news adds little value to the company. Meta had said that less than 3% of its Facebook Feeds come from news. Meta declined to comment on the data<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-metas-canada-news-ban-101134650.html</ref>.

August 1, 2023: Meta has said that it will seek user consent before allowing businesses to send targeted ads to them. "Today, we are announcing our intention to change the legal basis that we use to process certain data for behavioural advertising for people in the EU, EEA (European Economic Area) and Switzerland from 'Legitimate Interests' to 'Consent'," Meta said in a blog post. The company noted that the change will not result in an immediate impact to its services in the region and that they factored it into its business outlook. "There is no immediate impact to our services in the region. Once this change is in place, advertisers will still be able to run personalised advertising campaigns to reach potential customers and grow their businesses. We have factored this change into our business outlook," it said. It added that it will share more information on how the process will work in practice in the coming months as it engages with the regulator<ref>https://about.fb.com/news/2023/01/how-meta-uses-legal-bases-for-processing-ads-in-the-eu/</ref>.

July 17, 2023: Norway's data protection authority, Datatilsynet, said it will fine Meta $100,000 per day over data breaches unless it takes action aimed at resolving it. The regulator said the fine will start from Aug. 4 and will run until Nov. 3 unless action is taken by Meta. Datatilsynet said Meta can not collect user information such as physical address and use it to targeted advertising. "It is so clear that this is illegal that we need to intervene now and immediately. We cannot wait any longer," head of Datatilsynet's international section, Tobias Judin told Reuters. Meta said it will review the decision while adding that no immediate impact on its services is expected. The company noted, "We continue to constructively engage with the Irish DPC, our lead regulator in the EU, regarding our compliance with its decision." "The debate around legal bases has been ongoing for some time and businesses continue to face a lack of regulatory certainty in this area." Norway is not a member of the EU but is part of the European single market<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/norway-regulator-fine-meta-over-085000683.html</ref>.

July 10, 2023: The EU and US have signed a new transatlantic deal that will allow transfer of user data to U.S, without causing any safety concerns. “Personal data can now flow freely and safely from the European Economic Area to the United States without any further conditions or authorizations,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said at a press briefing in Brussels. However, the European privacy campaigner responisble for the legal challenges over the trans-atlantic data transfer has dismissed the deal. Max Schrems said he will challenge the latest deal in an EU top court. The transatlantic deal created concerns for tech giants such as Meta. During the latest earnings, Meta warned that if an agreement on the trans-atlantic EU-US data transfer doen't materialize, it will be forced to stop offering its services in Europe<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/europe-signs-off-privacy-pact-160703083.html</ref>. Roughly 10% of worldwide ad revenue comes from ads delivered to Facebook users in EU countries<ref>https://www.investmentwiki.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms#:~:text=May%2022%2C%202023,%5B39%5D.</ref>.

July 4, 2023: An EU Court of Justice has ruled that Meta must get user consent before sending personalized ads in certain circumstances. Unlike the recent decision by an Ireland court that fined Meta Platfroms $425 million and ruled that the company can't use its contracts to justify sending users personalized ads, today's rulling is not appealable. Meta Platforms started using an EU privacy law provision which cites the “legitimate interest” of its business after the former ruling. It also came up with forms which users can use to opt out of the personalized ads. However, the new ruling has stated that user's interest overrides the firm's " legitimate interest". It further stated that users must give consent freely instead of having to click "yes" to access a service. As such, the ruling will compel the likes of Facebook to ask users to opt in to ads that are of interest to them. It also gives the Ireland court a reason to quash the appeal that Meta is making regarding the former ruling. Meta spokesperson said that the company is evaluating the court's ruling and that it will comment further in due course<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/metas-facebook-needs-consent-to-personalize-ads-eu-court-rules-6c705f18?siteid=yhoof2</ref>.

June 23, 2023: Canada's senate passed a bill yesterday that will require Meta and Google to pay news outlets for content shared on the platforms. Meta confirmed that it will comply with the bill by ending news availability on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users. “We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, which was passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” said Lisa Laventure, head of communications for Meta in Canada<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canadian-senate-passes-bill-requiring-211255685.html</ref>.

June 2, 2023: Meta tests blocking Canadian users from accessing news content in Instagram and Fecebook. The bock is in response to a proposed bill that will require tech giants to pay publishers for reporting the content online. The Online News Act is being discussed in the senate and could be passed this month. Meta said it's ready to permanently block news content for Canadian Facebook and Instagram users if the bill is passed. The temporary block will affect 1-5% of its 24 million Canadian users<ref>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-tests-blocking-news-content-025737021.html</ref>.

May 26, 2023: In an effort to avoid further U.K antitrust woes, Meta has given assurances on how it uses ad data to boost its Facebook Marketplace, which include;

(a) Enabling advertisers to opt-out of their advertising data which is used to develop the marketplace.

(b)Meta will train staff to ensure that they don't use advertiser data when creating new products for the U.K market that will affect its competitors.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has until June 26 to consult on these commitments and if they are satisfied, they will close investigation on Meta platforms<ref>https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/26/to-avert-more-uk-antitrust-woes-meta-to-limit-how-it-uses-ad-data-to-boost-facebook-marketplace/</ref>.

May 22, 2023: Irish Data Protection Commission announced that it has fined Meta platforms €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion)  for transferring user data to the U.S, where it will be exposed to the prying eyes of the American security services. The commission has also asked Meta Platforms to stop " any future transfer of user data to the U.S" within 5 months. Additionally, Meta Platforms has been asked to stop “the unlawful processing, including storage, in the US” of such data within 6 months. The ban was widely expected though its impact has been reduced by the transition phases included in the decision as well as the possibility of a new EU-US data flows agreement that could be operational by June of this year<ref>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-22/meta-fined-record-1-3-billion-in-eu-over-us-data-transfers</ref>. This ruling applies only to Facebook and not WhatsApp or Instagram but the decision could force Meta to delete vast amounts of EU user data. Meta said they will appeal the decision and that no immediate disruption to Facebook services in the EU is expected<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/business/meta-facebook-eu-privacy-fine.html</ref>.  The company said during the latest earnings call that " roughly 10% of worldwide ad revenue comes from ads delivered to Facebook users in EU countries."<ref>https://www.investmentwiki.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms:Quarterly_Results/2023_Q1#:~:text=Regulatory%20Environmennt%5Bedit,suspension%5B13%5D</ref> It also warned last year that if a new transatlantic data transfer framework doesn't materialize, it will be forced to pull its Facebook and Instagram services from EU<ref>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-29/meta-repeats-threat-it-may-pull-facebook-instagram-from-europe</ref>.