Meta has reached a settlement in a privacy case, agreeing to cease targeting a UK citizen, Tanya O'Carroll, with personalised advertisements. The settlement was initially considered a landmark decision that could establish a precedent for millions of social media users in the UK. However, as a result of the settlement, which avoided a High Court trial in London, Meta is now considering offering UK users a paid, ad-free version of its platforms.
In a mutually agreed statement with Meta, O'Carrol said:
"The parties have mutually agreed to conclude the case. In 2021, I wrote to Meta stating that I wished to exercise my right to object under Article 21(2) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation to any processing of my personal data (including profiling) for direct marketing purposes on Facebook. In agreeing to conclude the case, Meta Platforms, Inc. has agreed that it will not display any direct marketing ads to me on Facebook, will not process my data for direct marketing purposes and will not undertake such processing (including any profiling) to the extent it is related to such direct marketing.
In the same article, O’Carroll went on to say: "This settlement represents not just a victory for me, but for everyone who values their fundamental right to privacy. None of us signed up to be trapped into decades of surveillance advertising, held hostage by the threat of losing the ability to connect with our loved ones online... Finally, this shows that we all have a right to access social media without paying with invasive levels of personal data."
O'Carroll, a human rights campaigner, filed the lawsuit in 2022, alleging that Meta violated the GDPR by failing to respect her right to object to the collection and processing of her personal data for the purposes of delivering targeted advertising.
Subsequently, O'Carroll launched the proceedings because she felt bombarded with ads soon after becoming a mother in 2017. Having tried unsuccessfully to turn off adverts in the settings, she discovered that Facebook had tagged her with more than 700 characteristics based on her activity relating to every area of her life.
Based on its potential to set a precedent for millions of UK users of online platforms, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) intervened in the case. The ICO published a summary of its arguments supporting the case and to assist the Court with applying the right to object.
The ICO submissions address three key points:
- The law governing the processing of personal data for the purposes of online targeted advertising
- Whether Article 21 of the UK-GDPR applies to online targeted advertising, and what is the definition of “direct marketing” under Articles 21(2) and (3)?
- Does Ms O’Carroll have the absolute right to object to processing and profiling under Articles 21(2) and (3) UK GDPR?
Following the settlement, the ICO issued a statement saying: "People have the right to object to their personal information being used for direct marketing, and we have been clear that online targeted advertising should be considered as direct marketing.
"Organisations must respect people's choices about how their data is used. This means giving users a clear way to opt out of their data being used in this way.
"If people believe that an organisation is not complying with their request to stop processing their data, they can file a complaint to us. We will continue to engage with Meta on this issue."
However, speaking to TechCrunch, O’Carroll admitted that she had little choice but to settle due to fears that she could be liable for the costs had she lost the case. While Meta refuted that "personalised ads" are not direct marketing, in seeking to settle, O'Carrol said "I think I’ve shown that that’s the case. But, of course, it’s not determined in law. Mesa has not had to accept liability — so they can still say they just settled with an individual in this case."
In addition, she said the "thing that gives me hope is that the ICO did intervene on the case and did very plainly — and incredibly convincing and persuasively — side with me."
In a related article, The Guardian reports that the former Conservative MP for Beaconsfield, Dominic Grieve, has urged millions of Facebook users in the UK to follow in O'Carroll's footsteps and object to the processing of their personal data by Meta. The article includes a link to a campaign by the nonprofit organisation Ekō to help people do just that.
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