Meta Platforms Must Limit Personal Data Use for Advertising

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Meta Platforms is required to restrict the use of personal data collected from Facebook for targeted advertising, according to a ruling by Europe’s top court on Friday, which supports privacy activist Max Schrems.

Schrems approached an Austrian court, claiming he was targeted by Facebook advertisements due to Meta’s personalized advertising practices using his personal data. The Austrian court then consulted the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which ruled in favor of Schrems.

The CJEU stated, “An online social network such as Facebook cannot use all of the personal data obtained for the purposes of targeted advertising, without restriction as to time and without distinction as to type of data.”

The judges highlighted that the principle of data minimization under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) supports this ruling.

In response, Meta asserted it has invested over 5 billion euros to incorporate privacy into its offerings and noted that it does not utilize specific categories of data for ad personalization, while advertisers are prohibited from sharing sensitive data.

A Meta spokesperson commented, “Everyone using Facebook has access to a wide range of settings and tools that allow people to manage how we use their information.”

Schrems’ lawyer, Katharina Raabe-Stuppnig, praised the ruling:

“Following this ruling only a small part of Meta’s data pool will be allowed to be used for advertising – even when users consent to ads. This ruling also applies to any other online advertisement company that does not have stringent data deletion practices,” she stated.

Schrems has previously taken legal action against Meta for alleged GDPR violations. This case is identified as C-446/21 Schrems (Communication of data to the general public).