Meta promises to reduce data sharing for EU users by 2026 to avoid EU GDPR fines

• Meta responds to DMA fine with new data collection policy for EU customers
• Options for personalized or generic ads are now both available
• The European Commission will continue to monitor uptake

Meta is set to offer European Facebook and Instagram users an option for reduced data sharing for less personalized ads, beginning January 2026, marking a satisfactory resolution to a months-long DMA battle with the European Commission.

Under the new EU model, users can choose between full data sharing for highly personalized ads and reduced data sharing for more generic ads.

The update would replace the previous ‘consent or pay’ model that forced users to either accept data tracking and personalized ads, or to pay for ad-free access.

Meta reaches an agreement with the EU over ads under the DMA

This news comes around half a year after Meta was hit with a €200 million fine (in April 2025) relating to this matter. The amount related to affected users between March 2024 (when the DMA obligations became legally binding) and November 2024 (when the updated ads model was introduced to allow less data sharing).

“Enabling free business and consumer choice is at the core of the rules laid down in the Digital Markets Act. This includes ensuring that citizens have full control over when and how their data is used online, and businesses can freely communicate with their own customers,” Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy EVP Henna Virkkunen wrote at the time.

An updated model has been approved after revisions, and the EU is set to continue monitoring for compliance. “Once implemented, the Commission will seek feedback and evidence from Meta and other relevant stakeholders on the impact and uptake of this new ad model,” wrote the European Commission.

Without access to highly personal information, Meta’s ads will rely on contextual targeting, which means backend engineering work to collect different types of data in other ways.

For advertisers, it could mean that they see weaker returns with targeting becoming less efficient among users who have opted out.

“Users in the EU must have full and effective choice, which is their right under the DMA,” commented the Commission.

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