Privacy, central axis
The EU adopted two laws to regulate the operation of platforms in the European space: one on Digital Services (LSD) and another on Digital Markets (LMD).
These two regulations define a rigid framework of operations for digital platforms, with special emphasis on the protection of user privacy.
To do this, the EU also has a specific guide, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), 2016, which also applies to the EEA.
In May, Ireland imposed a fine of no less than 1.2 billion euros on Meta for violating the GDPR rules for the processing of data from European users of the Facebook network.
In July, the Court of Justice of The EU determined that social media users must be free to “individually refuse to give their consent to the processing of particular data”.
Norway, which is not part of the EU but is part of the EEA, threatened in July to slap Meta with a daily fine of $100,000 for its use of personal information in defining advertising.
When the first rumors about this idea of Meta emerged at the beginning of October, the Austrian lawyer and activist Max Schrems pointed out that “fundamental rights cannot be for sale.”
“Introducing this idea in the area of data protection rights is a fundamental change. We are going to confront it in the courts,” wrote Schrems, founder of the NGO Noyb, which defends the right to privacy on digital platforms.
For expert Christophe Carugati, from the Bruegel digital rights think tank, the idea of Meta complies with EU regulations.