Meta to offer less personalized ads in Europe to appease regulators

(Reuters) -Meta Platforms plans to offer Instagram and Facebook (NASDAQ:META) users in Europe the option to receive “less personalized ads,” the tech giant announced on Tuesday, in an effort to allay regulators’ mounting concerns.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said it is implementing these changes in response to demands from EU regulators.

Over the coming weeks, people in the EU who use the company’s social media platforms for free with ads will be able to choose to see ads based on what Meta calls “context”- content that a user sees during a particular session on the platforms.

These ads will also target users based on age, gender, and location, with some being unskippable for a few seconds.

Meta also plans to reduce the price of ad-free subscriptions by about 40% for European users.

This move comes as European regulators intensify efforts to curb Big Tech’s power and level the playing field for smaller firms, including through the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) which came into force earlier this year.

The European Union law aims to make it easier for people to move between competing online services like social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores.

“The new model introduced by Meta is under Meta’s sole responsibility, and it is neither endorsed by nor agreed with the Commission. It is premature to speculate about the impact on the pending non-compliance proceedings,” a spokesperson for the EU told Reuters.

“Our objective is to bring Meta to full and effective compliance in this matter as soon as possible.”

Last month, Europe’s top court ruled that Meta must restrict the use of personal data harvested from Facebook for targeted advertising, supporting privacy activist Max Schrems.

Meta’s plans to introduce less personalized ads were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.