Meta Platforms and other large online platforms should give users an option to use their services for free without targeted advertising, EU privacy watchdog the European Data Protection Board said on Wednesday. The EDPB’s opinion came after it was asked by national privacy regulators in the Netherlands, Norway and Germany to look into consent or pay models adopted by large online platforms such as Meta.
The inquiry is perhaps the most substantial regulatory consequence to date of X, which has seen a rise in incendiary content on the platform, according to researchers.
The green light follows objections to the blockbuster deal by American and British regulators on the grounds that it would undercut competition.
The decision by the EU’s top court that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts globally sets a benchmark for the reach of European laws governing the internet.
Exclusives
Walt Disney has offered concessions in an attempt to allay EU antitrust concerns over its $71.3 billion bid for 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, the European Commission said on Monday. Disney submitted its proposal on Friday, according to a filing on the EU competition enforcer’s website which however did not provide details.
Facebook said today it was publishing its privacy principles for the first time and rolling out educational videos to help users control who has access to their information, as it prepares for the start of a tough new EU data protection law.
European Union’s antitrust chief slapped the biggest ever cartel fine — over €1.47 billion ($1.96 billion) — on seven companies for allegedly rigging the international market of television and computer monitor tubes. The EU’s Commission ruled that, for a decade ending in 2006, the companies — including Philips, LG Electronics and Panasonic — artificially set prices, shared markets and restricted their output.
