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.”

  • Tech With JakeEnglish
    4•1 month ago

    Not to defend Instagram cause fuck Meta. I’m curious how it would’ve turned out if Meta didn’t buy them way back. Same with WhatsApp. Could they have been great apps now a days instead of deserving of our scourn?

    • @[email protected]English
      3•1 month ago

      I remember Instagram when it was new. It was an actually photography app. Of course it had the edgy filters (which ~15 year old me made full use of). But the pictures people posted actually had a bit of effort behind them.

      Then it started becoming another mainstream social media where most pictures were about people’s lunches. I didn’t stick around for it’s final phase of business ads and thots.

      I think it lost the cool factor by the time FB bought it but maybe it would’ve taken longer to become as ad-infested as it is today

      • Tech With JakeEnglish
        2•1 month ago

        100% agree. Around for that time too. It’s why I wonder what it could’ve become.

        Ain’t nothing wrong with posting mundane pictures. I mean, look at PixelFed. Same shit happening but no horrible ads, no crappy algo, nobody trying to sell you shit. Just people posting pics.

        • @[email protected]English
          1•1 month ago

          There is nothing inherently wrong about food pictures but I feel like it is a symptom of the focus shifting from trying to take quality pictures to showing off a nice dinner/vacation/car you had to your “friend” group.

          There is a thin line between look at this cool thing and look at how much better my life is then yours. I kinda have a distaste for the second one. (That said I take food pictures all the time but mostly of stuff I made myself, though I don’t post it to social media)