It’s been an inauspicious start to the new year for Facebook and Insta owner Meta, which last week was slapped with a whopping $390m fine for breaching EU online privacy regulations.
In all Ireland’s Data Protection Commission imposed two fines which could shake up the social media giants business model targeting users with ads based on what they do online.
It should serve as a reminder that global regulators are taking increasingly tough measures to tackle the huge issue of online data privacy.
We’ve asked some of our leading adtech minds for their take on the matter…
Simon Reed, Chief Revenue Officer, multilocal
“Margrethe Vestager has been a long-term force for good at the European Competition Commission and has always championed the European citizen’s individual data rights to be protected.
“Meanwhile, Meta will no doubt challenge the recent European ruling for the €400m fine it has just received.
“Yet, whilst sizeable, it pales into insignificance versus the tens of billion for European ad revenue it took last year and the years prior to this. Indeed, Meta could consider the fine as a cost of doing business.
“That said, Meta is going to need to make some significant changes to its offering to play effectively and successfully in the EU region moving forward.
“Contextual targeting is where the market is moving to, so it may well be worth them
Pete Wallace, General Manager EMEA, GumGum
“Some in our industry have continued to stick to the status quo when it comes to personal data, despite the concerns of consumers.
“But with regulators getting increasingly tough, it seems things are starting to change.
“This ruling is testament to the fact that consumers need to be put in the driving seat on how their data is being used.
“Anyone wishing to use this personal data to be totally transparent and give consumers a clear view on what data is being used and provide an explicit opportunity to reject this.”
“This news is another reminder that players in the media and advertising world have to start diversifying their targeting strategies and investing in technologies such as contextual intelligence, which require no personal data at all and don’t require an opt-in from the user...
To read the remainder of this article please visit the Mediashotz website
