The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has issued a binding decision banning Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta, from processing users’ personal data for the purposes of behavioural advertising.
Following the regulatory decision, the EDPB has instructed the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s lead supervisory authority, to take final measures to enforce this ban on the company within two weeks.
A news report from Irish Examiner, an online medium, indicated that the decision was sequel to a request from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority.
In a statement issued, the EDPB maintained that the DPC must “impose a ban on the processing of personal data for behavioural advertising on the legal bases of contract and legitimate interest across the entire European Economic Area (EEA).
“The ban on processing will become effective one week after the notification of the final measures by the Irish DPC to the controller,” the EDPB added.
The EDPB chair, Anu Talus, recalled that in December 2022 the EDPB’s binding decisions clarified that contract is “not a suitable legal basis for the processing of personal data carried out by Meta for behavioural advertising.
“In addition, Meta has been found by the Irish DPC to not have demonstrated compliance with the orders imposed at the end of last year. It is high time for Meta to bring its processing into compliance and to stop unlawful processing,” Talus added.
According to the news report, the DPC had notified Meta on Tuesday about the decision.
Commenting on the EDPB decision, deputy Data Protection Commissioner, Graham Doyle, said the DPC, along with fellow EU data protection authorities, was focused on concluding its “detailed assessment of the consent-model that Meta announced in August and confirmed details of in a statement on Monday”.
Earlier this week, Meta announced that it would be introducing a new subscription option for the EU, EEA, and Switzerland and that the subscription would cost €9.99 per month if paid for on their website or €12.99 a month if paid through an iPhone or Android phone.
It also hinted that it would be offering users in the region the option to continue using these personalised services for free with ads, or subscribe to stop seeing ads and that while people are subscribed, their information will not be used for ads.
The EDPB said it had noted Meta’s proposal to rely on a consent based approach as legal basis. The DPC is currently evaluating this together with the Concerned Supervisory Authorities (CSAs).
