Meta's Commitment to Limit Ad Data Usage
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Friday that Meta, the social media titan, had proposed restricting its utilization of advertising data from other businesses. This move aims to resolve competition apprehensions associated with the Facebook Marketplace service, a popular platform for classified advertisements.
Towards an Equitable Marketplace: CMA's Perspective
The CMA expressed preliminary approval for Meta's commitments, encompassing the option for advertisers to withhold their data from being leveraged to enhance the Facebook Marketplace. Michael Grenfell, the CMA's Executive Director of Enforcement, emphasized the importance of these changes in creating a fairer competitive landscape. He said, "Diminishing the potential of Meta exploiting the data of advertisers for its competitive edge could benefit many UK businesses that use its platform for advertisement."
Addressing Competition Concerns: The Next Steps
Currently, the CMA seeks public input on these proposed commitments, which it believes can sufficiently address its prevailing concerns. The authority provided an illustrative example of Meta's potential data usage: Meta could infer a user's interest in trainers based on their engagement with related ads on Facebook and then utilize this information to influence shoe listings for that user on the Facebook Marketplace.
The consultation period for Meta's propositions will remain open until June 26, CMA announced.
