this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023
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Norway has succeeded in getting the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to make permanent and extend across Europe its ban on Meta (Facebook's parent company) harvesting user data for targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram.

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[–] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 147 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Watch them cry foul, threaten to pull out, start a legal fight, then go nowhere like the abusive type they are.

[–] nicetriangle@kbin.social 75 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (9 children)

I wish they would pull out. It's fucking ridiculous that so much of Europe is apparently just ok with using a Meta product for the defacto texting platform (WhatsApp).

[–] Damage@feddit.it 44 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Eh, it's not like we started using it because it was Meta's. They bought it when it was already popular, and switching everyone to something else is difficult.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah, WhatsApp was ported to basically every single platform that was relevant in 2009-2010 when it launched: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Series 40 and Windows Phone. Supporting Blackberry and Nokia mobile OS which were huge at the time as well as the new smartphone OS's was genius.

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

You left out webOS! Oh....

[–] nicetriangle@kbin.social 7 points 2 years ago

Sure I understand the reasons why it's this way, but it doesn't make it a good idea.

[–] TheGreenGolem@lemm.ee 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Oh, it's Messenger in Hungary. Not that it's any better, just saying.

[–] nicetriangle@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I mean that’s basically the same difference. It’s owned by the same company.

[–] IndefiniteBen@leminal.space 3 points 2 years ago

But Messenger has always been Facebook, so those users "chose" a Facebook product. WhatsApp users mostly signed up before Facebook bought them (getting those users is why Facebook bought WhatsApp).

The choice to use a Facebook product was made for existing WhatsApp users by the sale. You can personally choose a different service, but then you also have to get all your contacts to make the same choice.

[–] TheGreenGolem@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

That is what I said, yes.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 years ago

Meta is the cancer of the internet. The sooner they leave the better.

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[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 99 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Meta's practices also collected protected data like race, religion, and sexual orientation. Meta disputed that it needed explicit consent, arguing that agreeing to terms of service was enough, but courts rejected this.

Oh please let this be the beginning of a global backlash against corporate EULA's and the start of a path towards a few well understood EULA's, similar to how we have a few well understood FOSS licenses.

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 49 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] casmael@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago
[–] amio@kbin.social 37 points 2 years ago (1 children)

[chuckles evilly in Norwegian]

[–] Damage@feddit.it 29 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] amio@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago

Well yes. Unfortunately that just reminds me of Beavis and Butthead so it's not really evil enough.

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'd just like to thank the EU for having the data privacy laws that I suspect most Americans want but can't have because of the fact our country is owned by corporations

[–] dx1@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Honestly thinking this all week - pretty much every country in the world either voted yes or abstained on the Gaza/Israel ceasefire resolution, except for the U.S. (and a handful of others), who just coincidentally happens to have billions of dollars earmarked every year to go to Israel on the condition they spend it on arms from U.S. companies. That, and its strategic use in the region (access to fossil fuel resources), probably the whole reason.

[–] MonkderZweite@feddit.ch 23 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)
[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

And Amazon. Oh, and nowadays Microsoft has decided to join the club too.

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[–] nutsack@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (3 children)

a targeted advertising ban would kill just about every social media platform

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

They could just run contextual ads for much less effort and privacy violations, and still get the same or better result.

[–] nutsack@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

why do you think that would get "the same or better result"?

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's how advertising worked for literally the entire history of advertising before the modern internet. You put ads for car stuff on the cars website. You don't need to build an entire dossier on me. If I'm looking at the star wars wiki, you can be pretty confident that I'm interested in sci-fi and fantasy. You don't need to spend billions of dollars tracking me to know that.

This is not an expert opinion so I could be wrong, but I think it would be a better system. Simpler to implement, less stalking, less "oops we didn't show any house ads to black people" potential.

[–] nutsack@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

these companies spend a lot of money and computation power on intelligent targeting systems because they are in fact better from a capitalist perspective

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Maybe. I guess it makes it easier for Google to sell many different ads in the same time/space. Still sucks for everyone else though.

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[–] dx1@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago
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[–] dx1@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Nice. As someone who deals with compliance I know it's gonna be a huge pain for them to deal with, which makes it even better.

[–] erranto@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I will only believe it when I see it. It has been a few years since the EU is threatening a ban and meta threatening to leave the EU, so far none has committed any action.

[–] themurphy@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

EU didn't ban them because Meta complied. (the data protection bill, GDPR)

They will comply again, unfortunately. We could use a ban.

Must be nice living in countries where the government works for humans instead of corporations.

[–] Smacks@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

I can't wait for Facebook to take the time and energy to make two different versions of their platform. One to adhere to the EU regulations, and the other for everyone else that harvests every last bit of data.

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

Oh, no, boo hoo!

Lmao

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