Facebook to start asking permission for facial recognition in GDPR push

Users will be asked to review information about targeted advertising but some say opting out is deliberately difficult

Facebook has started to seek explicit consent from users for targeted advertising, storage of sensitive information, and - for the first time in the EU - application of facial recognition technology as the European general data protection regulation (GDPR) is due to come into force in just over a month.

The company is only required to seek the new permissions in the European Union, but it plans to roll them out to all Facebook users, no matter where they live. The move follows Mark Zuckerberg's stated goal to apply the spirit of GDPR worldwide.