META · 10-Q · 2026Q2 · Full report

Advertising Regulatory Scrutiny

Meta Platforms, Inc. · 2026-07-30 · Importance 44 · Surprise 60 · In source text

Meta said the EU General Data Protection Regulation, ePrivacy Directive, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, and U.S. state privacy laws have constrained the use of data signals for advertising targeting and measurement. In Europe, Meta changed the legal basis for behavioral advertising from legitimate interests to consent and offered a subscription-without-ads alternative, while also offering less-personalized advertising to users who continue using the services free of charge. The company is engaging with regulators on its consent model and expects regulatory and platform changes to continue adversely affecting advertising revenue for the foreseeable future. Meta also expects enhanced enforcement of advertising policies against violating ads and marketers to have a potentially material revenue impact.

Key facts

• We are developing privacy enhancing technologies, tools that enable marketers to share their data into our systems, and ad products such as Reels ads and business messaging ad products.

Impact estimates