Meta is set to allow EU users of its Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger apps to unlink their accounts due to an upcoming change in legislation.
Specifically, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will mean the world’s biggest social media provider must comply with the new rules, impacting users in the European Union, the European Economic Area (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and Switzerland.
The roll-out is anticipated over the next few weeks with the legal directive due to take effect in March, Meta said in a company blog on Monday (Jan.22)
Essentially, it means that people can still use Meta’s platforms without their information being shared between them. Typically, features such as personalized content, targeted ads, and post sharing would have been implemented between the different social media apps.
The change is all about choice as well as an important measure of regulating how gatekeepers can share data between services. The DMA is said to include an array of rules aimed at improving competition online and to level the playing field for businesses that rely on gatekeepers to provide their services.
Facebook users can opt to use Messenger as a stand-alone service, or they can even stay on the latter without having an account on the main service.
The change will also apply to Facebook Marketplace and Gaming but a warning has been sounded if a main Facebook account is disconnected, for example, you would need to communicate with buyers and sellers via email, rather than Messenger.
How can I unlink my Meta accounts in the EU?
With the immediate requirement for Meta to adhere to the changes in Europe, users should expect to be notified quite soon on how this will happen. The social media giant described how notifications will be distributed with all of the relevant information enclosed.
Meta also outlined their support for the DMA: “We are committed to continue working hard to ensure that Meta’s products in the EU comply with the DMA and deliver value to people – we have assembled a large cross-functional team staffed by senior employees from around the globe and across our entire family of apps to achieve that.”
The development comes after Google announced earlier this month how it was reacting to the DMA. Its director of legal, Oliver Bethell, outlined the tech giant’s preparations including how data would no longer be shared across the likes of Youtube, Google Maps, and Chrome.
Google has already displayed prompts on some phones asking if users want to keep Google services linked.
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