Have you ever searched for a certain item and found that your social media platforms are suddenly showing you ads for it? Well, that's personalized or targeted ads for you. If you reside in EU states, you might see less of it as Facebook is now required to limit its stream of personalized ads.
Personalized Facebook Ad Limits
Meta will have to acquire permission from its users before it delivers its personalized ads, according to a ruling from the European Union's Court of Justice, which also mentioned that the ad practice does not justify the processing of so much data without user consent.
Meta is said to be evaluating the court's decision and will release a statement in the future, all while it's working on appealing its EU fine worth $425 million. The charge was brought on by the company's requirement for users to accept personalized ads to use its products.
The platforms that require such consent include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as mentioned in Engadget. The EU believes that this violated the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for asking for consent in order to use the platforms.
Companies behind the platform will now have to provide proof that a user willingly gave permission to have their data used for targeted ads. While it could be could for the sake of user privacy, it will greatly affect Meta's ability to show personalized ads in the future.
With the ruling, users will now be able to decide whether or not they want their data access for better ad suggestions. This feature has already been introduced with Apple's iOS 14 where users can reject ad tracking from apps to protect their private data.
Risks from Targeted Ads
Mainly, users and governing bodies are concerned about the kind of data that is accessed to create ads that fit the user. These are usually taken from web activities, which is why it may make users feel like their movement online is being watched.
Although, the tech companies that operate the apps collect fundamental information, as mentioned in Forbes. The collected behavior information is solely used to curate the ads for the user and nothing more. Of course, it would still be better to have the option to reject it.
Users could benefit from the advertisements since they can be presented with better options for what they're looking for. According to reports, a staggering 91% of consumers are more likely to purchase an item or service if the brand personalizes its ads for them.
Other than their behaviors online, certain factors are also considered such as the target audience's demographics. For instance, consumers who live in tropical locations are more likely to purchase an air conditioner than those in colder climates.
It's almost similar to shopping in online retailers, where your purchase and search history are considered in order to show you products you might want to buy. Like ads, online behavior is studied in order to show a tailored stream of ads that would encourage you to buy products.
