HomeInsightsCould Facebook’s attempts to circumvent adblockers be in breach of ePrivacy regulations?

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Facebook announced last month its plans to bypass adblockers on its desktop website. This decision raises some interesting considerations as to whether by doing so, Facebook might find itself in breach of the EU’s ePrivacy Directive.

As I explained to The Daily Dot, this depends on whether it is deemed that the anti-adblocking software falls within the remit of Directive. If it does, Facebook would have to obtain the same consent as any website does for cookies. This remains a grey area however: the technology may not be placed on a user’s device (thus falling outside of the jurisdiction of the Directive) or it may be deemed unintrusive. Any adblock detectors would need to be reviewed to determined whether they are deemed obtrusive or not.

This uncertainty might come to an end soon: the ePrivacy Directive is due for reform in the coming months following an Opinion published in July, and we can but hope that adblocking will be on the agenda for the new legislation.