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Meta is taking the European Union a little more seriously, as the EU has requested the US-based company to put more work into privacy. The company will now provide better control over personalized adverts for those in the EU, which is expected to roll out over the coming weeks.
In a terse press release, Meta states that it has taken “concerted efforts to comply with EU regulation” but has received “additional demands” that “go beyond what is written in the law.”
The move will allow users to limit what data Meta’s apps can extract to cater adverts to them. Meta does state that it’ll show ads “based only on context – what a person sees in a particular session on Facebook and Instagram”. This could mean that it might still target adverts to EU users based on that particular moment.
This isn’t the only thing that’s changing on the advertising front for Meta in the EU.
EU gets price drop on Facebook & Instagram ad-free subscription
European Facebook and Instagram users will also be able to get an ad-free experience for far less. Meta is reducing the prices of its EU-only subscription to eliminate adverts from the apps and websites by 40%.
This brings the prices down from €9.99 ($10.60) to €5.99 ($6.36) for those only accessing them through the web, and €12.99 ($13.78) to €7.99 ($8.48) for those on mobile.
This mostly stems from a July accusation, in which the EU accused Meta of breaking rules from its recently released digital competition rulebook. The bloc claimed that Meta’s options – even the subscription – didn’t allow for limiting personal data that can target users with ads.
Meta and the EU have continuously butted heads. Most recently, the Facebook company gave up trying to bring its new AI models to the EU, as it would cross too many lines laid out by the government.
Featured image: Wikicommons, Meta
