BTW, this is the press statement from the EU Commission about the change:. "The Commission understands that Meta, in response to the non-compliance Decision, will make only limited changes to the advertising options it rolled out in November 2024. The Commission cannot confirm at.

For more on this, check out my conversation with @eric_seufert and the extended notes I published

Perhaps the Commission will now claim that what they said isn't really what they meant, and that they actually need further changes from Meta. But let's be clear that this would mean moving the goalposts and be another example of the mess that DMA enforcement has been.

The April EC decision covered Meta's model until November 2024. The only thing EC complained about the post-November model is that the choice of personalised advertising (as opposed to "less personalised advertising") was pre-selected. Meta now removed the pre-selection.

Today, Meta is making changes to advertising settings on Facebook and Instagram for EU users. This is a response to EU Commission's decision that found their earlier "pay or consent" model not compliant with the EU DMA regulation.

The judge in @nytimes v @OpenAI seems almost comically out of touch with reality. Ignoring user expectations regarding "temporary chats" and that the order to store data creates a risk it will be eg hacked. V bad look for NYT that they're condoning this

Alba's text:

Will the EU try to force Microsoft to make Recall unsafe? (Some will say "even more" unsafe, but I'm more optimistic about the future of this kind of tech). Alba Ribera Martínez noted that an EU Commission official recently stated that they're seek feedback on the "data.

RT @meme_ec: Stop the clock? #AIAct

Podcast: My notes:

What we're seeing is lawyers making categorical decisions about digital markets without understanding their dynamics. The unwillingness to consider broader consequences - whether for advertisers, market contestability, or innovation - poses serious risks to European.

We also discussed what's new in EU AI regulation and the fate of the Draghi report. I said that while there's reform momentum in European capitals, Brussels treats this as a political problem to manage rather than a call for fundamental change. Their proposed "GDPR.

Meta's new three-option model might satisfy the Commission if they remove pre-selection of personalized ads. But given the hostile tone throughout the decision, I wouldn't exclude new objections, particularly around what data processing occurs in the "less personalized" option.

Less than 1% of users chose Meta's paid option. The Commission sees this as proof the choice wasn't genuine. I see it differently - it shows users prefer social media funded by personalized advertising. The low uptake suggests the Commission is forcing something users don't want.

The Commission's argument that users are "unaccustomed to paying for social media" struck me as particularly weak. Can we really claim Europeans don't understand the concept of paying for digital services? The distinction between platforms with "content of known monetary value".

Eric noted TikTok spent $1 billion on user acquisition in 2018 alone. Making advertising less effective inflates the cost for future competitors to achieve similar scale - erecting barriers to entry while claiming to promote competition.

Eric pointed out the circular logic: DMA proponents claim it's about consumer choice, but when we note it could suppress competition by preventing new entrants from reaching scale, they retreat to claiming personalized advertising doesn't work. As Eric said, this position is.

I argued that this formalistic approach ignores how personalized advertising on Facebook and Instagram created v significant contestability in European markets. SMEs and direct-to-consumer businesses often rely entirely on these targeted channels. The Commission dismisses this in.

The Commission found Meta's "pay or consent" model violated the DMA, but their reasoning shows disregard for economic reality. They explicitly state they won't consider impacts on Meta's business or - more concerningly - on European advertisers who depend on targeted advertising.

Just discussed the European Commission's Meta ("pay or consent") decision with @eric_seufert on the @MobileDevMemo podcast. You will not be surprised that we're both unimpressed with the EC decision. The podcast is now online, and you can also read my extended notes on EUTechReg.