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NOYB is a much better source. These two paragraphs alone do a better job than the entire Ars article: https://noyb.eu/en/meta-facebook-instagram-switching-legit

NOYB is a much better source. These two paragraphs alone do a better job than the entire Ars article: https://noyb.eu/en/meta-facebook-instagram-switching-legitimate-interest-ads https://noyb.eu/en/meta-facebook-instagram-switching-legitim... > Background. The GDPR allows to process personal data if a company complies with at least one of six legal basis in Article 6 GDPR. Most of these six options are irrelevant for advertisement. While most companies require users to consent ("opt-in") for the use of personal data for advertisement, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) have tried to bypass this requirement by arguing that the use of personal data for ads is "necessary under the contract" when the GDPR became applicable in 2018. noyb has instantly filed a series of complaints and ultimately won them before the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) in December 2022. Meta got until April to stop the practice. > One illegal practice replaced by next illegal practice. Now Meta announces to give in against the pressure by noyb, but instead of switching to an "opt-in" system, like Google or Microsoft, they now try to argue the next unlawful option, by claiming that their "legitimate interest" to process user data would override the fundamental right to privacy and data protection of users. This was tried by other companies before, but rejected by the regulators multiple times (see e.g. the Italian DPA on TikTok or the Belgian DPA on the IAB TCF at para 441).

top_sigrid 4y ago
Came here to say this. NOYB are doing incredible work and if you have some spare money, I think it is a good option for a small monthly donation, as I do it. Hopefully at some point the lever of big monetary sentences will be made use of from regulatory enforcement.
raven105x 4y ago
I'm honestly shocked most sensible EU countries don't simply DNS block Meta at this point.
- scrollaway 4y ago
  Because WhatsApp is the primary mode of communication for hundreds of millions of people across the EU.
  - xorfish 4y ago
    That is the case, but banning it just for a few weeks will change that without much disruption. Most people are aware that Signal exist and switch the moment WhatsApp stops working.
    - scrollaway 4y ago
      This is some bubble heavy wishful thinking. Last time WhatsApp was down for just a few hours it made international news.
      - piaste 4y ago
        That was unexpected and unannounced. Saying "WhatsApp will go offline from the 1st of next month" would be very different. Especially because WhatsApp _uses phone numbers as identifiers_. Switching to Signal or Telegram, which also use phone numbers, would be completely feasible: recreating the same groups would be the biggest annoyance, but you have all your contacts as soon as they install the app. People will of course be very bothered by losing their chat histories (can you decrypt the backups it creates in Google Drive?), but it won't be an actual show-stopper. And it will teach a valuable lesson on relying on cloud.
        scrollaway 4y ago
        … how disconnected from reality must you be to think this is an okay thing to impose on hundreds of millions of people who rely on a specific communication channel to talk to their loved ones? "Oh they'll figure it out and install another app" -- wtf? I agree it's not great that this is all controlled by Meta but this is what it is now. It will take a long time, or some heavy nationalization, to fix the situation. This mentality of "let's break it and people will figure their shit out" is i.n.s.a.n.e.. You know that "move fast and break things" is a BAD thing when you're affecting the lives of so many, right?
        piaste 4y ago

top_sigrid 4y ago

Came here to say this. NOYB are doing incredible work and if you have some spare money, I think it is a good option for a small monthly donation, as I do it. Hopefully at some point the lever of big monetary sentences will be made use of from regulatory enforcement.

raven105x 4y ago

I'm honestly shocked most sensible EU countries don't simply DNS block Meta at this point.

scrollaway 4y ago
Because WhatsApp is the primary mode of communication for hundreds of millions of people across the EU.
- xorfish 4y ago
  That is the case, but banning it just for a few weeks will change that without much disruption. Most people are aware that Signal exist and switch the moment WhatsApp stops working.
  - scrollaway 4y ago
    This is some bubble heavy wishful thinking. Last time WhatsApp was down for just a few hours it made international news.
    - piaste 4y ago
      That was unexpected and unannounced. Saying "WhatsApp will go offline from the 1st of next month" would be very different. Especially because WhatsApp _uses phone numbers as identifiers_. Switching to Signal or Telegram, which also use phone numbers, would be completely feasible: recreating the same groups would be the biggest annoyance, but you have all your contacts as soon as they install the app. People will of course be very bothered by losing their chat histories (can you decrypt the backups it creates in Google Drive?), but it won't be an actual show-stopper. And it will teach a valuable lesson on relying on cloud.
      - scrollaway 4y ago
        … how disconnected from reality must you be to think this is an okay thing to impose on hundreds of millions of people who rely on a specific communication channel to talk to their loved ones? "Oh they'll figure it out and install another app" -- wtf? I agree it's not great that this is all controlled by Meta but this is what it is now. It will take a long time, or some heavy nationalization, to fix the situation. This mentality of "let's break it and people will figure their shit out" is i.n.s.a.n.e.. You know that "move fast and break things" is a BAD thing when you're affecting the lives of so many, right?
        piaste 4y ago