EU regulators approve Meta’s plan for less personalised ads under the DMA
The European Commission has officially acknowledged Meta’s commitment to introduce, for the first time on Facebook and Instagram, a genuine alternative to fully personalized advertising for users in the European Union. This change aims to bring Meta into compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), following the Commission’s April 2025 non‑compliance decision concerning Meta’s lack of effective user choice. The case has been closely monitored by the Directorate‑General for Competition and the Directorate‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology.
Under the new model, expected to be rolled out to EU users in January 2026, Meta will provide a binary choice. Users may either consent to the use of their full data set for highly personalized ads, or opt to share a more limited set of personal data, resulting in a less granular level of ad targeting. While the details of the “less personalised” configuration have not been fully disclosed publicly, it is clear that the option must meaningfully reduce the extent of profiling to meet DMA standards on user consent and fairness.
This development arises from sustained regulatory pressure under the DMA’s gatekeeper provisions, which require systemic platforms to give users a “full and effective” choice over how their data is used, particularly for advertising based on tracking and profiling across services. Meta’s new offer represents a structural adjustment of its ad‑funded business model in the EU, reflecting a broader shift toward compliance strategies that blend consent mechanisms with reduced‑profiling alternatives, and potentially sit alongside evolving pay‑no‑tracking subscription offerings.
Once implemented, the Commission has indicated it will gather feedback and evidence from Meta, advertisers, civil society, and other stakeholders on the practical impact and uptake of the revised ad model. For practitioners, the key questions will include whether consent flows are genuinely free and informed, whether the “less personalised” option is sufficiently prominent and non‑discriminatory, and how this approach will influence future enforcement under the DMA and its interaction with the GDPR’s consent and legitimate interest framework.
