BREAKING NEWS:Facebook Slapped With Massive Fine As Tony Abbott Accuses Them Of Censorship
Meta who Tony Abbott has accused of trying to “censor” content on Facebook has been slapped with a $630M fine for violating European Union (EU) privacy laws.
Overnight Former prime minister Tony Abbott accused the social media giant of trying to “censor” the case against an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament after Facebook pulled ads urging people to vote “no” in the upcoming referendum because it would give “special rights” to one group of people based on their race.
The ads, which were paid for by conservative lobby group Advance Australia, urged people to oppose a “yes” vote in the referendum because if successful, “we’ll have one race of people with special rights handed to them” News Corporation publications reported.
In Europe a top European Union privacy regulator ruled that Meta can’t use its contracts with Facebook and Instagram users to justify sending them ads based on their online activity, delivering what has been described as a major blow to the digital-advertising industry.
The ruling was announced Wednesday by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission.
Meta claims that the ads are necessary to execute contracts with users.
Meta disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal both it and the fines.
If the decisions are upheld, this could mean that Meta will have to allow users to opt out of ads that are based on how individual users interact with its own apps—something that could hurt its core business.