Meta cannot run ads based on personal data, EU privacy watchdog rules - source

FILE PHOTO: Woman holds smartphone with Meta logo in front of a displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Meta cannot run advertising based on personal data and will need users' consent to do so, according to a confidential EU privacy watchdog decision, a person familiar with matter said on Tuesday.

The Irish privacy regulator, which will issue the final decision, has been given a month by EU privacy watchdog the European Data Protection Board to do so. Its decision is likely to include hefty fines, the person said.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey)