In Norway, social platforms Facebook and Instagram will soon be banned from tracking users’ activities in order to serve targeted ads, writes Politico.
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to stop showing personalized ads created by tracking users’ internet activity and location. The ban will take effect in August, according to the order obtained by Politico.
The ban on behavioral ads will be in effect for three months. Social networks will be allowed to personalize advertisements using only the information included in the “About” section of the user’s profile.
If Meta violates the ban, the company will have to pay a daily fine of one million Norwegian kroner (89,500 euros).
If Meta succeeds in finding a way to legally process personal data, allowing users to opt out of personalized ads linked to activity tracking, the ban will be lifted.
On the 4th of July, the Court of the European Union ruled that Meta illegally collects users’ personal data in order to display personalized ads without their explicit consent, based on the company’s legitimate interests. Meta’s activities are also currently being investigated by the EU’s leading data processing watchdog, the Irish Data Protection Commitee.
Graham Doyle, a representative of the Irish Data Protection Commitee, said
the regulator plans to make a decision on Meta’s legal basis for collecting user data by mid-August.
The Irish regulator oversees Meta’s compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) across the bloc. Other European countries, such as Norway, can take national decisions for up to three months.
The Norwegians are the first who, following an EU court order, have decided to significantly limit the activities of Meta. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority also plans to approach the European Data Protection Board to request an urgent binding decision so that the final measures can be decided.
Meta spokesman Matt Pollard said the company continues to engage constructively with the Irish Data Protection Commitee.
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