Meta has a long history with EU data regulations, most notably its record-setting €1.2 billion fine in 2023 for breaking GDPR regulations. Meta was found to have been transferring European user data to the United States and was ordered to cease this, in addition to the fine.
In November of 2023, Meta launched an ad-free subscription service exclusively for users in the EU to provide an alternative method to using their services, compared to their standard advertising model. This was in direct response to the EU ruling, and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into full force since its introduction in 2022.
However, in July of this year, the European Commission found that this new model was still in breach of their laws due to the service’s “Pay or Consent” nature. Regulators saw the DMA requires non-paying users to still have access to services without having to either pay a subscription fee or consent to their personal data being used for targeted advertisements.
What we know:
As of November 12, 2024, Meta has announced that they’re rolling out two new updates to their advertising model in the EU: reducing the cost of their ad-free subscription service by 40%, and launching the option to opt out of personalised ads for EU users. These come off the back of the European Commission DMA rulings, which puts Meta at risk of being fined up to 10% of their global revenue.
Whilst Meta are making changes to appease the European Commission, their own pro-personalisation stance mean the changes are very limited in geographical range. Meta also claims that European businesses earn €107 billion in revenue from personalised ads on their platforms each year and that for every €1 spent on Meta ads, €3.79 is earned in advertiser revenues in Europe.
How will the new “Less Personalised Ads” work?
Meta will use less personalised data to decide which ads to show users, relying instead on session context (what the user is seeing during that particular Facebook or Instagram browsing session), and broad data points such as age, location, gender, and ad engagement.
However, Meta is also rolling out the introduction of “ad breaks” within this new mode. This will allow advertisers to purchase unskippable ad breaks lasting a few seconds, which will allow Meta to ensure they’re still providing value to advertisers within the EU, whilst hopefully complying with EU regulations.
Which countries is this being rolled out to?
All European Union countries, in addition to the EEA and Switzerland. The UK is not affected by these new changes.
Why is Meta implementing these changes?
The European Commission has been cracking down on large tech companies, and Meta is no exception. Meta themselves wish to continue advocating for personalised advertising: “We will continue to advocate for regulations that support the responsible use of personalized advertising.”
How this may affect the UK:
As the UK doesn’t fall under the geographical bubble for these features, they’re unlikely to directly affect users and businesses here. However, with the new “ad breaks” feature, we may see an eventual rollout of this across a wider range of services based on the response of the less personalised ads service users.
Additionally, if you’re marketing outside of the UK to the wider continent, make sure you’re keeping in mind that EU users may be paying for an ad-free experience or opting out of targeted advertising. We’ve yet to see figures that show how many users are opting out of personalised ads (one way or another), but in the meantime, here are a few ideas for how you can maximise your less targeted ads:
- Test, test, and test some more!
- A|B testing is a great way to find out if your ads are working for you, and how you should optimise your campaign to get the best results.
- Focus on the creatives
- Ensuring you have eye-catching, excellent visuals is even more important when you can’t guarantee your ads are in front of your specific target audience.
- Embrace and adapt to any changes
- Digital marketing is still relatively new, so don’t be afraid to embrace receiving fewer demographic data points and optimise as you go to figure out the most effective campaign for your audience.
All in all, these new updates are unlikely to directly affect us here in the UK, but understanding Meta’s responses to increased pressure from the European Commission allows us to stay ahead of upcoming changes and industry shifts. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close eye on responses to the new ad-breaks feature!
