Meta Faces European Privacy Crackdown on Behavioral Advertising

  • Watchdogs signed off on plan to extend curbs already in Norway
  • Ban coincides with Meta’s plan for paid-for ad-free services

Regulators signed off on the new restrictions as Meta announced its plan to offer an ad-free version of the social media sites if users choose to pay a fee.

Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Meta Platforms Inc. is set to be hit by a Europe-wide ban on leveraging the trove of personal data of Facebook and Instagram users to target them with ads — a move the social network giant says ignores its recent moves to give people more control.

The curbs — approved on Oct. 27 by a panel of European regulators responsible for enforcing data privacy rules in the region — will extend temporary measures already in place in Norway.