Platforms should not confront users with 'binary choice' over personal data use

The EU’s Data Protection Board (EDPB) has told large online platforms they should not offer users a binary choice between paying for a service and consenting to their personal data being used to provide targeted advertising.

In October last year, the social media giant said it would be possible to pay Meta to stop Instagram or Facebook feeds of personalized ads and prevent it from using personal data for marketing for users in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland. Meta then announced a subscription model of €9.99/month on the web or €12.99/month on iOS and Android for users who did not want their personal data used for targeted advertising.

At the time, Felix Mikolasch, data protection lawyer at noyb, said: “EU law requires that consent is the genuine free will of the user. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a ‘privacy fee’ of up to €250 per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection.”

  • @[email protected]English
    30•8 months ago

    They can put all the ads they want to finance their services, but if they want to use targeted ones, they have to ask for unbiased users consent.

    • @[email protected]English
      2•8 months ago

      Suppose non-targeted ads didn’t generate enough revenue. Would it then be legitimate to require facebook to provide their service at a loss?

      • @[email protected]English
        10•8 months ago

        I would say no. Just as it’s not legitimate for any other business to break the law even if that means they’re not going to be profitable

    • @[email protected]English
      2•8 months ago

      I can’t find the word ‘unbiased’ in the GDPR. All it asks for is consent:

      1. Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that at least one of the following applies:

      a) the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes;

      In the case of facebook, the user gives consent for the purpose of being served targeted advertising in exchange for the provided service.

      [Edit:] Found something:

      When assessing whether consent is freely given, utmost account shall be taken of whether, […] the provision of a service, is conditional on consent to the processing of personal data that is not necessary for the performance of that contract. Article 7, paragraph 4 GDPR

      So the question of whether the pay-or-consent model is legal hinges upon the question of whether payment (in any form) is “necessary for the performance of that contract“.

      • @[email protected]English
        4•8 months ago

        Yes the term is “freely given consent” indeed, but more importantly: Why would you not trust the EU Data Protection Board if they say themselves that consent-or-pay is not okay?