Dem
51
GOP
49
Social media play an increasingly large role in politics, with misinformation running rampant on all of them. Twitter has been in the news a bit lately, what with Elon Musk apparently trying to drive it into the ground. All was quiet on the Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) front—until yesterday. That's when the Irish Data Protection Agency hit Meta with a fine of about $414 million. It also ruled that Meta would have to change its ways, which could lead to its business in Europe being far less lucrative than it now is. In all, this ruling could weaken Facebook and Instagram considerably and reduce its power and influence.
At the heart of the case is how the companies handle user data. The terms and conditions state that Meta can collect and use user data as it wishes to. It uses the data to allow other companies to target their ads very precisely. The Agency ruled that not giving users the option of opting out of this collection and sale violates European Union law. But it is precisely this data collection and sale that makes it possible for advertisers to target Facebook and Instagram users very accurately. Without it, placing an ad on Facebook would be like placing an ad in a general-interest newspaper: Most of the readers would have little to no interest in the product being sold. In that case, advertisers would not be willing to pay anywhere near what they are now paying, and Meta's whole business model would fall apart.
The ruling holds only in the European Union, but with 450 million people, it is a much bigger market than the U.S. Meta will now be forced to allow users to opt out of letting their data be shared. Undoubtedly many will. And this is the second big hit Meta has taken recently. The first was when Apple made a change to the iOS operating system used on iPhones (and its sister operating system used on iPads) that allows users to opt out of being tracked. Apple's changes cost Meta $10 billion in 2022. The new E.U. ruling could cost Meta much more because it affects every Meta user, not just those people using Apple's mobile devices. (V)