It would appear that the privacy laws in the EU continue to pay off.
9to5Mac writes:
Earlier this week, Meta officially flipped the switch on in-app advertising for WhatsApp users worldwide, marking the first time ads have appeared inside the messaging platform. But if you’re in the European Union, there’s now an important update: the rollout won’t be happening for you… yet.
Europe’s privacy guardrails hold yet again
In comments to reporters today (via Politico), Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) said WhatsApp has informed them that the new ad model won’t go live in the EU until next year at the earliest. Previously, Meta had stated that they would be “rolling this out slowly over the next several months”, with no mention of the European rollout timeline.
[…]
To nobody’s surprise, that cross-platform data-sharing element in particular raised immediate concerns from European privacy advocates and regulators.
9to5Mac
I generally try to avoid Meta’s products because of their abysmal attitude towards user privacy, so I won’t be terribly affected by it when it does come to the EU. I only use WhatsApp for the two or three people I know who don’t have anything else. Otherwise, it’s Apple Messages or Signal for me.
I’m definitely glad I live in the EU.
