Facebook has said that its users will still be required to accept targeted ads as a condition for using the service despite the new European Union privacy law, Reuters reports. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be applied starting May 25.
Under GDPR, companies will face fines if they collect or use personal data without permission from each user.
Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer Rob Sherman said that the network will begin seeking permission from EU users this week for a variety of processes where Facebook uses the data, but he also said that the users will not be able to opt out of targeted ads, because Facebook’s business model is primarily based on advertising. They will, however, be able to limit some types of data from being used in targeting.
Approval for data sharing will be obtained by Facebook through “permission screens”, pages that require the user to click a button and agree to the stated terms in order to go forward. Users will not be given the option to decline, but they will either “accept and continue” or “manage data setting”.