Dutch court rules Facebook’s targeted ads lacked legal basis

15/03/2023 | TechCrunch

A Dutch court has ruled Meta does not have a legal basis for delivering targeted advertising in a further blow to its European business. The case relates to a suit filed in 2019 by a Dutch advocacy group, the Data Privacy Foundation and consumer protection not-for-profit, Consumentenbond.

In its ruling, the Court of Amsterdam found that Facebook Ireland acted unlawfully over how it handled Dutch Facebook users' personal data and that the data processing for advertising purposes was conducted without a legal basis. Concerning the processing of special category data, such as information about users' sexual preferences and religion, Facebook failed to obtain explicit consent. The court also found Facebook had not sufficiently informed users about its data-sharing practices with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica. The court concluded Facebook's actions were not only a violation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation but also an unfair commercial practice.

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