Bits of Freedom has filed a brief against Meta. They demand that Meta allow users of Instagram and Facebook to choose a timeline that is not based on profiling. But what exactly does the law say?
Of course, such a case cannot go forward without a legal foundation. That is laid out in the summons, an excerpt of which is published on the court's website. And although this lawsuit deals with big issues, such as elections and public discourse, it is basically pretty small and simple legally. And although the law is sometimes very unreadable, that is not too bad here.
Before you read on, it's good to know that what we call a feed or timeline is called a recommendation system to lawyers. Not surprising either, because after all, that's what happens on a timeline: certain content is recommended to the user, at the expense of other content. Often this is based on profiling. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) defines that as "any form of automated processing of personal data in which [...] certain personal aspects [...] are evaluated." This is done to "[t]his [...] economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, [...] behavior [...] to be analyzed or predicted." In short, platforms use recommendation systems based on profiling to predict the content that keeps your on the platform.
Read more on the Bits of Freedom website
