European Union: Issued DPC notification to Meta on EDPB urgent binding decision extending the ban on behavioural advertising on Facebook and Instagram in EU/EEA

On 10 November 2023, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) notified Meta of the European Data Protection Board's (EDPB) urgent binding decision extending the ban on behavioural advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the European Economic Area (EEA). The EDPB noted that the ban is imposed on behavioural advertising on the legal bases of contract and legitimate interest and is applicable one week after Meta receives the notification. The EDPB also noted that the DPC is currently assessing Meta's proposal to use user consent as a legal basis for processing data for behavioural advertising. The ban follows the previous ruling of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (DPA), which imposed a fine of NOK 1 million on Meta for processing data for behavioural targeted advertising without a valid legal basis. The DPA forwarded this issue to the EDPB, requesting a binding decision to extend the ban to the EU/EEA. The ban will apply to behavioural-targeted advertising, which uses the user's online behaviour, such as browsing history and will not apply to contextual targeted advertising.