According to the ruling made by the European Union’s top court. Facebook Meta’s owner has to reduce the amount of personal information it relies on for custom-made advertising. Max Schrems, a privacy campaigner, led the Case Casehe Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) against Facebook. Claiming they abused his private information for ads.EU Court Rules Meta Must Limit Data for Ads.
Privacy Issues Related to the Utilization of Personal Data EU Court
In 2020, Schrems filed complaints before the Austrian courts that caused the targeting of adverts referring to and aimed at gay individuals. He did not identify as homosexual on Facebook, yet the ads still haunted him. He maintained that the said company applied teachings and survived sensitive information without the qualification of the parties, and this compromises data control and protection.
CJEU decision against Meta EU Court
The court announced the ruling, stating that no EU regulation allows using all personal data submitted by the end-user without limitations for advertising purposes. The court specified that an online social network like Facebook cannot use all personal data obtained for targeted advertising without time restrictions or data classification.
Sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or health status are classified as sensitive information under existing UK data protection laws. And processing such data requires extra steps.
Meta’s Response to The Ruling
Meta echoed that online advertising does not incorporate highly sensitive personal data. A spokesperson said, “We wait for the publication of the Court’s judgment. And will have more to say in due course.” The company has reconfirmed its commitment to privacy. Claiming that it has spent over five billion euros to ensure that all its products come on the market with in-built privacy policies. In addition, Facebook users are provided with various tools. And settings to control how their information is used.
Legal Reaction and Implications
Katharina Raabe-Stuppnig, one of Mr. Schrems’s counsels, was happy about the ruling, although it was pretty predictable. She focused on the fact that only a tiny segment of Meta’s data pool will be used for advertising purposes even if the users want advertisements.
Dr. Maria Tzanou, senior lecturer in law at Sheffield University. Stated that the ruling order proved that data protection principles can work. The ruling is likely to have a heavy consequence on social media platforms’ handling of user data. As there will be higher thresholds for the use of data for targeted advertising, among other means.
