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EU ruling muddies waters for Irish data watchdog as Meta plots payment model

A new order from Europe’s privacy regulator is being viewed with bemusement by some as it bans the company from doing something it has already promised to move away from

Meta has shifted its position dramatically in response to a series of clampdowns from EU regulators. Picture: Bloomberg

Robert Bateman normally feels a certain degree of pleasure when new curbs are imposed on Meta by European privacy regulators.

After all, Bateman is something of a bête noire of the Facebook owner. A British-based privacy specialist, he has spent years writing exacting analysis of the company’s policies and has applauded moves to limit its data-hungry business model in recent years.

But last Wednesday, when he read through details of an announcement by the European ...