Tanya O’Carroll, a resident of London working in the technology policy and human rights sector, has succeeded in having Meta cease using her personal data for targeted advertising on Facebook. This agreement was reached as a resolution to the individual lawsuit filed by O’Carroll against the technology giant in 2022.
O’Carroll explained that it was in 2017 when she became aware of the extent of Facebook’s knowledge about her private information and how it was leveraged to display advertisements that matched her profile. At that time, she was pregnant and although she had not yet informed her close circle, the platform quickly determined her condition and began altering the content it showed her, shifting to advertisements about pregnancies, babies, and motherhood.
Subsequently, in 2022 she filed a lawsuit against Meta requesting that the platform stop using her personal data for targeted advertising. O’Carroll asserted that Facebook’s targeted advertising system aligned with the definition of “direct marketing” in the United Kingdom. Indeed, under the UK data protection law (based on the GDPR of the EU), it is outlined as a legal right to object to the use of personal data for direct marketing purposes.
“I knew that this type of predatory and invasive advertising is something we all have a legal right to oppose… I do not think we should accept these unfair conditions where we consent to all that invasive data tracking and monitoring,” O’Carroll explained on the BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
For its part, the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), the UK data watchdog, supported O’Carroll’s stance, affirming that online advertising should be considered direct marketing. “Organizations must respect individuals’ decisions about how their data is used. This includes offering users a clear method to object to their data being used in this way.”
Regarding Meta, the company argued that its platform already provides robust settings and tools for users to control their data and advertising preferences. Moreover, the tech giant attempted to defend themselves by stating that ads on Facebook can only be targeted to groups of at least 100 people, and not to specific individuals, thus they did not consider it direct marketing. However, the ICO did not agree with Meta’s argument.
Ultimately, Meta has relented and will not process the plaintiff’s data for targeted advertising. This occurred just days before the case was to be heard in the High Court of England. For O’Carroll, this individual victory could set a precedent and she encourages people to assert their rights, just as she has done.
This case prompts us to reflect on the power we grant to social platforms without prior questioning and genuine consideration. The giants set their rules and give us two options “accept” or “reject.” If you choose the first, you gain access to the social and entertainment space that your entire circle enjoys, if not, prepare to fall victim to FOMO.
It is worth noting that, in the European Union, we have a higher layer of security in this regard thanks to regulations like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or the DMA (Digital Markets Act). These laws have led to more than one sanction for the technology giant. Nevertheless, Meta is resistant to fully relinquishing its great power. We have seen this in the case of its ad-free plan for the EU.
In November 2023, Meta launched an ad-free payment plan for Instagram and Facebook in the European Union. This was the company’s response to adapt to the new parameters regarding user data collection and privacy established in the DSA.
However, the European Commission determined that this “pay or consent” model violated the DMA, as it limited users’ right to give free consent for their data to be tracked for advertising purposes.
Finally, in November 2024, Meta yielded to EU pressures. The company reduced prices of its ad-free plan and added a new free option of “less personalized ads”, which utilizes much less data to filter advertisements.
It is now speculated that Meta could choose to implement this same system of options for users of its social networks in the United Kingdom, following the O’Carroll case.
Photo: GPT4
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