Headlines
Meta pledge to use less personal data for ads gets EU nod, avoids daily fines
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Meta's proposal to limit personal data for ads has been approved by EU regulators, avoiding daily fines. This reflects the EU's ongoing scrutiny of Big Tech.
By Foo Yun Chee and Louise Rasmussen
BRUSSELS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Meta's proposal to use less personal data for targeted advertising in its pay-or-consent model that will be rolled out next month won the approval of EU antitrust regulators on Monday, signaling the company will not face daily fines after all.
The Meta investigation underscores Europe's continued crackdown on Big Tech despite U.S. criticism, and its willingness to settle cases rather than levy hefty fines when possible to avoid escalating trans-Atlantic tensions.
The U.S. tech giant has been locked in discussions with the European Commission after getting hit with a 200 million euro ($233 million) fine in April for breaching the Digital Markets Act aimed at reining in the power of Big Tech.
The violation covered Facebook and Instagram in the period from November 2023 to November 2024, after which Meta tweaked its pay-or-consent model to use less personal data for targeted advertising.
The EU executive has been examining the changes to see if they comply with the DMA, with Meta risking daily fines of as much as 5% of its average daily worldwide turnover if found to be still in breach of the law.
The tweaks are in wording, design and transparency to remind users of the two options. Meta did not plan on any substantial changes to its November proposal despite the risk of EU fines, people with direct knowledge of the matter had told Reuters.
The Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, acknowledged Meta's November proposal, saying that it will monitor the new ad model and seek feedback, with no more talk of periodic fines.
"Meta will give users the effective choice between consenting to share all their data and seeing fully personalised advertising, and opting to share less personal data for an experience with more limited personalised advertising," the Commission said in a statement.
($1 = 0.8603 euros)
(Reporting by Yun Chee Foo and Louise Breusch Rasmussen; Editing by Bart Meijer, Bernadette Baum and Jan Harvey)
Targeted advertising refers to the practice of delivering personalized ads to users based on their behavior, preferences, and demographic information to increase engagement and conversion rates.
The Digital Markets Act is a regulation by the European Union aimed at ensuring fair competition and preventing monopolistic practices by large tech companies in the digital market.
Daily fines are penalties imposed by regulatory authorities on companies for non-compliance with laws or regulations, calculated based on the duration of the violation.
User consent in data sharing refers to the permission given by individuals to companies to collect and use their personal data, often required by data protection regulations.
EU antitrust regulators are responsible for enforcing competition laws within the European Union, ensuring that companies do not engage in anti-competitive practices that harm consumers or other businesses.
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