Meta, known to users for its social media apps, is also one of the world's biggest advertising platforms, alongside Google. Collecting detailed information about Instagram and Facebook users to deliver targeted ads has allowed it to generate tens of billions of dollars in ad revenue every year. — Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa
BRUSSELS: The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is, for the first time, set to limit the amount of personal information it forces users to share for ad tracking purposes, according to an announcement from European Union authorities.
Users of Meta's social networks inside the bloc are set to gain more control over their data and be shown fewer personalised ads, the European Commission said.
"Meta will give users the effective choice between: consenting to share all their data and seeing fully personalised advertising, and opting to share less personal data for an experience with more limited personalised advertising," a press release on Monday said.
The option is set to be available to users from January 2026. Meta has committed to changes to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), designed to protect users from tech giants.
The planned changes are linked to a long-running dispute between the commission and Meta. In April the EU's executive arm fined Meta €200mil (RM959mil) for breaching the DMA by not giving users sufficient opportunity to choose an option that used less personal data.
Meta, known to users for its social media apps, is also one of the world's biggest advertising platforms, alongside Google. Collecting detailed information about Instagram and Facebook users to deliver targeted ads has allowed it to generate tens of billions of dollars in ad revenue every year. – dpa
