For years, Facebook has repeatedly gotten in trouble with government regulators in Europe for gathering too much user data. However, it’s worth it for the company because of the billions it can make with targeted advertising by using that data. But as of this week, that business model may have been put in serious jeopardy. Europe’s data watchdog group has officially extended a ban on Facebook’s targeted advertising, preventing them from being seen in 30 countries.

This ban was originally instituted by Norway, which recommended that it be carried across all of Europe. And now, European regulators have listened, leaving Facebook’s data-first revenue stream with an uncertain future.

“We are very pleased that the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) agrees with [our] assessment and extends our ban. The aim is that citizens across Europe will have better privacy,” the head of the Norwegian data regulator said.

“Meta has been found… to not have demonstrated compliance with the orders imposed at the end of last year. It is high time for Meta to bring its processing into compliance and to stop unlawful processing,” EDPB chair Anu Talus said.

Of course, Facebook strongly pushed back against the ban, insisting that it’s working toward fully complying with European guidelines. However, the company still clearly has work to do to convince regulators that it’s serious about respecting user privacy.

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