Meta changes reason for collecting European user data
Meta is changing the basis on which it collects data from Facebook and Instagram users. The company is forced to do so by the Irish privacy regulator. That way, the company still doesn’t need to ask for permission from users.
meta writes in an update to a blog post that it will implement the new policy from April 5. That new policy only applies to European users, who fall under the GDPR rules. The GDPR prescribes that companies must use a must have a basis. Of these, there are six, of which user consent is only one. Meta relied on the implementation agreement. It states that the processing of user data is necessary to be able to perform a service. According to Meta, users “enter into an agreement” with the company when they create an account.
Privacy regulators have denounced this attitude for years. At the beginning of this year, Meta was fined 390 million euros for exactly this violation. The Irish privacy regulator called the use of the contractual obligation as a basis illegal.
Meta therefore had to not only pay the fine, but also adjust its policy. Meta had to look for a new foundation. It is there now, but it is not the basis that privacy regulators hoped for. Most regulators would like Meta to ask users for permission, but Meta doesn’t. It now opts for the controversial ‘legitimate interest’. Under this basis, a company can process data if it considers that processing necessary for its business operations.
Meta still believes the old foundation was compliant. Still, it changes policy. That’s what Meta does the privacy policy and in the processing agreement. The company does not further explain how it exactly interprets the legitimate interest.
The question is whether the European privacy regulators will accept the new policy. However, this would require further investigation. That could take years, especially if the Irish Data Protection Commissioner is put in charge. He initially wanted to give a much lower fine, but had to increase it under pressure from European counterparts.