The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens AP) will join Norwegian and German privacy regulators in litigation regarding privacy and personalized ads. The reason is Meta's decision that Facebook and Instagram will only be free for users who give permission for their personal data to be used for targeted ads.
Under the AVG, organizations may only process personal data if they have a legal basis to do so. AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen: "What you click on, what you look at online, where you are and also what your political preferences are. You have the right to keep control and say over your data, that it is well protected and that it is only used in accordance with what you want. That is a fundamental right for everyone."
People should be able to give consent freely, without pressure. They should also have the choice to refuse to allow an organization to process their personal data. This should also not have adverse consequences for the users in question. "The question is whether 'pay or ok' policies meet this. At the moment there is no unambiguous European approach yet; national regulators handle this differently," the AP said. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) will take a position on the issue within eight weeks.
