Meta Inc. Fined 55 Billion Yen for Behavioral Advertising

Meta fined 55 billion yen

US SNS giant Meta (formerly Facebook) has been fined a new fine of approximately 55 billion yen (390 million euros) by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violating the EU’s personal information protection law. was revealed on the 4th.

Meta previously processed personal data with user consent and provided behavioral targeting advertising, but with the enforcement of the GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation) in May 2018, the company changed its advertising terms of use. revision. Due to “contractual necessity”, we changed the form to use personal data for advertising system without user’s consent.

The DPC has fined SNS “Facebook” 210 million euros and image-sharing app “Instagram” 180 million euros, saying that these measures violate EU privacy regulations. . It also ordered the personalized advertising policy to be amended within three months.

The DPC states that “the need for a contract cannot be the legal basis for serving behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram.” The European headquarters of major IT companies such as Meta, Google, Twitter and TikTok are in Dublin and therefore fall under the jurisdiction of the DPC.

Meta disagrees with the DPC’s ruling, saying, “It is unfair to judge that personalized advertising cannot be provided throughout the EU without requiring user consent.” It plans to appeal the decision, citing lack of regulatory clarity.

DPC started investigating Meta in May 2018, when GDPR came into effect. The four fines imposed on the company since 2021 alone exceeded 126 billion yen (900 million euros). In November 2010, after the personal information of more than 500 million Facebook users was leaked, Facebook imposed a fine of 38 billion yen for inappropriate management methods.

association:Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces 10,000+ layoffs

EU digital market regulation

Starting with the enforcement of the GDPR, the movement to regulate the digital market is accelerating, especially in the EU. The Digital Market Act (DMA), which was enacted on July 18, 2022 and is scheduled to come into force in 2024, targets giant companies that provide digital services (digital gatekeepers) to maintain an open market. requirements were set.

The DMA applies to tech giants in the EU with a market capitalization of 10 trillion yen ($80 billion) or more and monthly users of 45 million or more. Violators can be fined up to 10% of their global annual turnover, with even heavier penalties for recurring companies.

In December 2010, it was reported that Apple Inc. was preparing to implement “sideloading,” which would allow external applications to be downloaded from places other than the official App Store, in order to comply with DMA. Currently, iPhones and iPads are restricted to downloading apps only via the App Store.

The response is limited to the EU, but it could apply to other countries if similar laws are enacted. Such a move could provide a tailwind to the Web3 and NFT (non-fungible token) industries, where in-app transactions on Apple devices have been restricted so far.

association:Apple’s 30% ‘Apple tax’ will be lifted as it plans to allow third-party app stores in Europe = report

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