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  • Meta AI: German Court did not grant interim injunction. Final decision will be taken in main procedure. German DPAs issued urgency procedure.

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    Artificial Intelligence
    Today, a German Region Court in Cologne had to decide on an interim injunction against Meta for training its AI with user data without asking for consent
    … … VZ NRW brought an "interim" case in an attempt to prevent Meta from starting AI training before a normal court case … " We are somewhat surprised about the outcome, given that Meta's breach is quite massive and obvious. However, you … taking action these days  – so this is far from done for Meta. If Meta's approach is finally found to be unlawful, it …
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  • noyb sends Meta 'cease and desist' letter over AI training. European Class Action as potential next step

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    noyb has sent a cease and desist letter to Meta demanding that the company halt its AI plans in the EU
    … 100 … noyb 's Cease and Desist Letter to Meta Ireland Reuters report about noyb's cease and desist … the German VZ NRW on its preliminary injunction for Germany Meta's grotesque statement on the German VZ NRW's … preliminary injunction Previous noyb complaints against Meta's AI training plans Meta AI not compliant with GDPR. To …
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  • Verbraucherzentrale NRW requests Meta to cease and desist AI training in the EU

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    Meta will start using Europeans' data for AI training. The German Verbraucherzentrale is taking legal action to stop the plans
    … North Rhine-Westphalia Original noyb complaints Meta's announcement to train AI on EU data Cease and desist … North Rhine-Westphalia (in Germany) has sent Meta a cease and desist letter on 30 April 2025, requesting … Below you can find initial statements by Max Schrems: "Meta is deliberately trying to ignore European law and is …
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  • Frequently asked questions about Pay or Okay

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    So-called Pay or Okay systems are on the rise in Europe. First introduced by journalistic websites that wanted to boost their consent rates, Meta adopted the approach for Instagram and Facebook in November 2023.

    Below, we compiled a number of the most frequently asked questions about Pay or Okay to explain what this is all about and why this approach is dangerous for consent online.

    … websites that wanted to boost their consent rates, Meta adopted the approach for Instagram and Facebook in …
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  • EU Court: Irish DPC must investigate noyb complaint

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    National Administrative Procedures and DPA inactivity
    The DPC refused to comply with a binding decision by the EDPB. Instead, the DPC sued the EDPB before the European Courts. The case can now be appealed to the CJEU
    … Data Protection Board (EDPB) held in December 2022 that Meta illegally used the personal data of users for …
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  • Data Protection Day: Only 1.3% of cases before EU DPAs result in a fine

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    National Administrative Procedures and DPA inactivity
    European data protection authorities almost never impose fines for GDPR violations
    … isn’t. Almost all major tech companies like Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft are located in Ireland, making the Irish … its own good fortune. noyb ’s two biggest cases against   Meta had to take a detour to the EDPB before the DPC finally …
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  • US Cloud soon illegal? Trump punches first hole in EU-US Data Deal

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    Data Transfers
    Trump paralysed the "Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board" (PCLOB), a key element of the EU-US data transfer deal that allows EU-US data flows.
    … the US government to access any data stored with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google and any other US Big Tech firm …
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  • Ads: Meta wants to be 'less illegal' - but much more annoying...

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    In the battle over the illegal use of personal data for advertisement, Meta has announced another variation: This time Meta will try "less personalized" ads, which may annoy users into consenting.
    … on LinkedIn noyb's "Pay or Okay" complaint against Meta First Statement: Annoy people into consent? The new … personalized' is 'less illegal' - but this does not mean Meta is now acting 'legal'. It is like being proud of … use their personal data and ads that do not. We doubt that Meta's fourth iteration of trying to bypass EU law will be …
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  • CJEU: Meta must "minimise" use of personal data for ads

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    Online & Mobile tracking
    In today's ruling in C-446/21 (Schrems v. Meta), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has fully backed a lawsuit brought against Meta, over its Facebook service.
    … Use of data for advertising must be "minimised". So far, Meta uses all personal data it has ever collected for … to limit the processing to strictly necessary data. So far, Meta and many other players in the online advertising space … to the national courts. Katharina Raabe-Stuppnig: "Meta has basically been building a huge data pool on users …
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  • Twitter’s AI plans hit with 9 more GDPR complaints

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    Artificial Intelligence
    Twitter did not inform users about personal data being used for AI training and did not seek consent.
    … DPC Personal data of 60 million people to train AI? As if Meta’s failed attempt to illegally use people’s personal … logical choice would be opt-in consent, Twitter – much like Meta – claims that it has a " legitimate interest " that … been rejected by the Court of Justice in a case concerning Meta’s use of personal data for targeted advertising. …
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  • Annual Report 2023 out now!

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    2023 was the year of major decisions leading to record fines against companies
    … cases of 2023 are noyb’s first two complaints against Meta’s “Pay or Okay” system . In November 2023, the company … fines. The year began with the Irish DPC ordering Meta to pay a whopping € 390 million in early January . At the end of May 2023, Meta was fined € 1.2 billion and was ordered to stop …
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  • Fines resulting from noyb litigation

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    The GDPR gives data protection authorities (DPAs) the power to impose an administrative fine of up to 4% of a company’s annual turnover or € 20 million if they violate the GDPR, depending on which sum is higher.

    The purpose of these fines is to deter similar infringements in the future. Although a noyb study found that they are among the most effective enforcement tools available to authorities, significant fines for GDPR violations are extremely rare. The fines go to the country where the proceedings take place, which almost always the country where the fined company has its headquarters.

    Since 2018, the following fines have been imposed on the basis of noyb complaints:

    … € 1.2 billion fine for Meta over EU-US data transfers At the end of 2023, Meta was fined € 1.2 billion and ordered to stop … transferred outside the European Union. US companies like Meta can’t meet this requirement. This also was confirmed by …
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  • (Preliminary) noyb WIN: Meta stops AI plans in the EU

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    Artificial Intelligence
    First reaction to Meta's announcement to stop using personal data for AI training in the EU/EEA
    … 1419 … Short update by the DPC Meta Statement DPC makes "U-turn" after initially approving Meta AI. While the DPC initially approved the introduction of Meta AI in the EU/EEA, it appears that other regulators have …
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  • noyb urges 11 DPAs to immediately stop Meta's abuse of personal data for AI

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    Artificial Intelligence
    noyb urges DPAs in 11 countries to immediately stop Meta's use of personal data for undefined "AI technology"
    … , Norway (with NCC)*, Poland and Spain ) Overview of Meta's (false) spins regarding Meta AI All non-public data for some undefined future "AI … data to train a specific AI system (e.g. a chatbot), Meta's new privacy policy basically says that the company …
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  • AG at CJEU: Facebook must "minimize" personal data for ads in EU

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    Online Advertising
    Today, the attorney general published his opinion in the case C-446/21. Here is noyb's first reaction.
    … must be limited by time, type and source. So far, Meta uses all the data it has ever collected for … of "data minimisation" in Article 5(1)(c) GDPR. So far, Meta has simply ignored this and has not foreseen any … network -v- on third pages). Katharina Raabe-Stuppnig: "Meta has basically been building a huge data pool on users …
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  • EDPB Opinion: Meta cannot rely on "Pay or Okay"

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    First Update on the EDPB's "pay or okay" opinion on larger platforms.
    … of the term "freely given consent" when analysing Meta's "Pay or Okay" system, which charged users more than € … purposes and paying a fee ". Max Schrems: " Overall, Meta is out of options in the EU. It must now give users a … get all the relevant numbers for further decisions beyond Meta and larger platforms. " Third option needed.   The EDPB …
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  • 'Pay or Okay' explained: Why more and more websites make you pay for your privacy

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    How do pay or consent systems work and what are the issues? Max Schrems explains it all in this explainer video
    … 100 … … Pay or Okay FAQ In November 2023, Meta introduced a paid subscription for Instagram and … Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling in July 2023, which declared Meta's handling of user data illegal. Now, instead of asking … their privacy online. If the approach is legitimised for Meta, companies across all industries could follow suit - …
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  • "Pay or Okay": 1,500 € a year for your online privacy?

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    Should “Pay or Okay” be legitimised for Meta, companies across all industries could follow its lead. But what’s the current situation in the member states?
    … risk. After the European Court of Justice (CJEU) declared Meta’s handling of user data illegal  in July 2023, Meta switched to a “Pay or Okay” system to once again bypass … “Pay or Okay”. If the EDPB legitimises the approach for Meta, more and more companies will follow the example and …
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  • 28 NGOs urge EU DPAs to reject “Pay or Okay” on Meta

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    Forced Consent & Consent Bypass
    The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) will soon issue what is likely to be its most significant opinion to date
    … Board DPA’s request for an EDPB opinion on “consent or pay” Meta says “pay for your rights”. After the European Court of Justice (CJEU) declared Meta’s handling of user data illegal last July, Meta jumped to the next best option to bypass the GDPR and …
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