Social media ad targeting could face a public rebellion any moment now

O’Carroll had created her Facebook account about 20 years ago. In her lawsuit, she asked Meta to stop using her personal data to fill her social media feeds with targeted advertisements based on topics it thought she was interested in. Her lawsuit argued that since Facebook’s targeted advertising system was covered by the UK’s definition of direct marketing, individuals had the right to object. The ICO, as the UK’s data watchdog, has agreed with her contention and approved of her right to object.

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It was in 2017, when O’Carroll found out that she was pregnant, that she realized the extent to which Facebook was targeting ads at her. The ads she got on the social media platform “suddenly started changing within weeks to lots of baby photos and ads about babies, pregnancy and motherhood,” she recounts.

“I just found it unnerving—this was before I’d even told people in my private life, and yet Facebook had already determined that I was pregnant.” O’Carroll felt very uncomfortable with what she called “predatory, invasive advertising.” So she sought legal recourse to push back this practice of surveillance advertising.

Facebook has agreed to stop targeting ads at an individual user using personal data, based on ICO’s judgement. O’Carroll said she hoped her individual settlement would make it easier for others who wanted the platform to stop targeting them with ads.

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The ICO ruling could have wider ramifications around the world. This landmark case of privacy could set a precedent for millions of social media users. Will they follow suit? That’s a question worth billions of dollars.

Advertising accounts for approximately 98% of Meta’s revenues. Meta and other tech giants rely heavily on personalized ads to make money. If more users demand greater control over their digital footprints, the UK ruling’s impact would widen. Meta being forced to give users more control over their data would disrupt its ad-based business model.

The case highlights growing concerns over surveillance capitalism and the power of Big Tech firms over personal data. This judgement may also encourage stricter regulatory enforcement in the context of how companies process and store user data.

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The O’Carroll case should also be seen in the larger context of growing public perceptions about the negative influence of social media. The Netflix series Adolescence has sparked a wildfire of significant discussions on social media’s influence on today’s youth. Books like Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt have held social media platforms responsible for perpetuating unrealistic expectations and negative behaviours among younger generations.

It is not for nothing that Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the US, highlighted loneliness induced by social media as a public health epidemic.

The most recent example of an industry facing a pushback from the general public and having to drastically change its ways was the fast-food industry. The obesity epidemic was attributed to a large extent to quick-service food businesses. So this industry had no option but to make drastic changes in its business strategies.

The fast-food industry was forced to reformulate its ingredients. A reduction of trans fats and sodium plus greater use of organic and natural ingredients became the new norm. The industry was also forced to introduce low-calorie meals and add healthier alternatives, such as salads, grilled dishes and fruit sides, to its menus. To be seen as promoting healthy lifestyles, it had to make marketing and brand communication adjustments as well.

There was a time when the world’s top tobacco companies were portrayed as great companies that were built to last. But health concerns about its products have pushed this once high-profile industry to the backyard of the business world, even though it has sought to diversify away from tobacco. The social media industry has much to learn from what happened to these two industries.

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The consumer pushback of tobacco and fast-food businesses was partly a reaction to their products creating addictive behaviour and causing their customers harm. Social media giants have been crafting their algorithms to get users to spend more of their daily lives on their platforms. This is clearly about these companies working hard to get an even larger proportion of users addicted to what they offer. Already, several studies have shown that excessive social-media usage is resulting in greater long-term harm to the mental health of younger generations than any other addiction in history.

With O’Carroll’s lawsuit and the ICO’s judgement on it, the writing on the wall is abundantly clear. Business as usual cannot prevail among social-media players for too long. A massive pushback from end users may have only just started. It could spread like wildfire.

Social-media mega corporations have no option but to change their ways. They must keep the health and welfare of their end users front and centre. The fast-food industry had a few decades to change. But social media moves fast and its very technology could be used to create quick and lasting changes. The countdown has begun.

The author is chief evangelist, Fractal Analytics.