The European data regulator has made a decision to extend a ban that Norway, a non-EU country, put on certain ads on Facebook and Instagram.
This ban now covers all 30 countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area.
The banned ads are called “behavioral advertising.”
They use your data to target you with ads.
This is not good news for Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram as the ban does not sit well with them.
If Meta does not follow the rules, they could be fined a lot of money, up to 4% of their total income.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is telling the Irish data regulator, where Meta’s European HQ is, to enforce this ban within two weeks.
Reacting to the development, Mark Zuckerberg said they will give users in Europe the option to agree to these ads.
They will also offer a paid subscription to follow the rules.
Since August 7, Meta has been getting daily fines in Norway for using people’s data for ads.
These fines will stop on November 3. But Meta might face even bigger fines in the future.
