Overview
- Meta committed to give EU users a clear choice between fully personalized ads based on all their data or a free experience that uses less personal data and delivers less personalized advertising.
- The European Commission said the new options will be presented to users in January 2026 following a compliance dialogue with the company.
- Regulators indicated the move averts the prospect of daily penalties for now, though the investigation remains open and officials will scrutinize implementation and uptake.
- Meta was fined €200 million in April for its 2023–2024 pay‑or‑consent model, which the Commission found violated the Digital Markets Act’s requirement for a genuine alternative to full tracking.
- Consumer group BEUC signaled cautious support and plans to review the changes, while Meta defended personalized advertising as economically important for Europe and noted weak interest in its previous ad‑free subscriptions.