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.”

    • @IsThisAnAIEnglish
      -3•8 months ago

      I’d be concerned with other services. Facebook is irrelevant in the larger policy push.

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

        What services do you think are worth letting them violate my rights to my personal information?

        • @IsThisAnAIEnglish
          0•8 months ago

          Plenty. I don’t want to pay full price. YT, TikTok, and insta are great. I use sheets/docs for some minor personal stuff too.

      • gian English
        1•8 months ago

        Are you so deluded to think that there are no other service provider in EU ?

        • @IsThisAnAIEnglish
          1•8 months ago

          What’s going to replace YT? Or insta? You going to go door to door to have everyone convert to signal?

          • gian English
            1•8 months ago

            What’s going to replace YT? Or insta?

            Maybe nothing in the short term, but it is not that improbable that something will emerge. YT and insta are here just because they were the first, not that it is clear that there is a market (or a use for these kind of services), once you remove the one who don’t follow the laws, other will emerge.