“Meta settles lawsuit over surveillance business model”, 14 April 2025

Meta has agreed for the first time to stop using the personal data of a specific individual for targeted advertising, as part of a negotiated settlement with human rights campaigner Tanya O’Carroll.

Launched in November 2022, O’Carroll’s lawsuit alleged the technology conglomerate was ignoring her legal right to object to the processing and continued use of her personal data for targeted advertising on its Facebook service.

In the wake of the settlement – which was agreed just days before the claim was due to be heard in the British High Court – Meta must now cease its tracking and profiling of O’Carroll for the purposes of serving microtargeted ads.

This marks the first time a person in the UK has secured an agreement with the social media company over the right to opt out of its surveillance-based advertising – potentially setting a precedent that allows millions of UK users to confidently exercise their same right to object.