par Business AM
published on Friday October 4, 2024 at 7:34 p.m. •
3 min read
Key information
- The EU’s highest court has ruled that Meta Platforms must limit its use of personal data collected by Facebook.
- Online social networks like Facebook cannot use all personal data acquired for targeted advertising purposes without time or data type restrictions.
- This move is in line with the data minimization principle set out in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Europe’s highest court ruled on Friday that Meta Platforms must significantly limit its use of personal data collected from Facebook for targeted advertising. The move supports privacy activist Max Schrems, who has initiated legal action against Meta in Austria.
Mr Schrems claimed that he had been subjected to personalized advertisements based on Meta’s processing of his personal data. The Austrian court subsequently sought the opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which is located in Luxembourg, resulting in Friday’s ruling. The CJEU said that online social networks like Facebook cannot use all personal data acquired for targeted advertising purposes without any restrictions on time or data type. This interpretation aligns with the principle of data minimization set out in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The impact of the ruling
Meta responded by emphasizing its commitment to privacy, saying it has invested more than €5 billion in integrating privacy measures into its products. It also said it was refraining from using special categories of user-provided data for personalized ads and prohibiting advertisers from sharing sensitive information. The Meta spokesperson highlighted the different settings and tools available to users on Facebook, which allow them to control how their information is used.
Reactions to stopping
Katharina Raabe-Stuppnig, the lawyer de Schrems, welcomed the decision, saying that it significantly limits the use of Meta data for advertising purposes, even with user consent. She also emphasized that this decision applies to all online advertising companies that do not have rigorous data deletion practices. Schrems has already filed lawsuits against Meta, alleging GDPR violations on multiple occasions.
