By Mauro Orru
Meta Platforms plans to hand Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union more control over how much data they share to see personalized ads, as the tech giant seeks to reassure EU officials that its services comply with the bloc's strict digital regulations.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Monday that Meta would offer users in the bloc a choice between sharing all their data to see fully personalized ads on Facebook and Instagram, or a lower amount of data to see limited personalized ads starting next year.
The EU said the decision followed close discussions with the company. EU officials in April fined Meta 200 million euros ($232.9 million), saying the group had breached its obligations under the Digital Markets Act to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data.
Meta rolled out a so-called consent-or-pay model in November 2023 that let EU users of Facebook and Instagram agree to have their data combined for personalized ads, or pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free service. The EU said that model didn't comply with the DMA and effectively told Meta to make changes or risk incurring additional penalties.
Under the DMA, the EU expects large companies it designated as "gatekeepers" to provide users who don't want to have their data combined across platforms a less personalized but equivalent alternative.
Meta gave EU users the option to see less personalized ads in November 2024--a policy that the EU is currently assessing. Meta's latest decision to offer users more choice goes a step further as the company is making additional changes to the wording, design and transparency of consent requests in its bid to reassure EU officials that its services comply with the DMA.
"We acknowledge the European Commission's statement," a Meta spokesperson said. "Personalized ads are vital for Europe's economy-last year, Meta's ads were linked to 213 billion euros in economic activity and supported 1.44 million jobs across the EU."
The commitment comes days after the EU said it was opening an antitrust investigation into whether Meta's rules governing AI developers' access to WhatsApp are stifling competition.
Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 08, 2025 08:01 ET (13:01 GMT)
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