Italy’s data protection authority fined Meta €805 million (about US$890 million) on Saturday 14 November for reading photos on Android phones through Facebook. Meta must now switch the feature off by default and ask users again within 60 days.
In Brazil, the electoral court fined Meta’s Brazilian unit R$7.5 million (about US$1.3 million) four days earlier, but over a different kind of case, so the two sums are not a like-for-like comparison. Conversions use the European Central Bank rate of US$1.1052 per euro and the Brazilian central bank’s PTAX rate of R$5.6518 per dollar, both for Friday 13 November.
Key Facts
—The fine. €805 million (about US$890 million), roughly 0.47% of Meta’s worldwide turnover.
—The feature. Facebook suggested photos from Android galleries as post ideas, switched on by default since 2023.
—The deadline. Meta has 60 days to ask for separate consent and keep the feature off by default.
—Brazil. Brazil’s electoral court fined Meta’s Brazilian unit R$7.5 million (about US$1.3 million) on 10 November, in a different case.
—Power Index. Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 74.2 points (November 2026 edition).
—Stand. As of 14 November 2026, 23:30 GMT.
A privacy ruling in Rome and an election-rules ruling in Brasília hit the same US company within days, but they punish different conduct. The Italian case is about privacy and the Brazilian one is about election-court orders.
What Italy Decided
Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, announced the fine on Saturday 14 November against Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Meta’s European unit. It applied Article 122 of Italy’s privacy code, which turns the EU’s ePrivacy directive (a law protecting the confidentiality of devices) into Italian law.
The Garante says a smartphone is part of a person’s private sphere, so reading what is stored on it needs free and informed consent, even if nothing is sent anywhere. It found that the Facebook feature “Get suggestions from the gallery while you browse Facebook”, live since 2023, was switched on by default.
Access ran through one app-wide permission, and the prompt before it spoke only of “enabling other features”. About 20 million Android users in Italy are affected, and the Garante says the breach was continuing when it acted.
How the Amount Was Set
The Garante cited the large number of people affected, the length of the breach and a 2019 order against the same company. It treated Meta’s later changes as a mitigating factor but called them late and limited to users who update the app.
The inquiry began in July 2025 after a complaint from the Centro Tutela Consumatori Utenti in Bolzano, a South Tyrol consumer-rights group. Meta argued that Ireland’s regulator should lead the case, and the Garante rejected this because ePrivacy rules have no “one-stop shop” that gives one country’s authority sole control.
What Brazil Did
On Tuesday 10 November, Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the top court for election law, fined Facebook’s Brazilian unit R$7.5 million (about US$1.3 million) for failing court orders in the 2026 presidential runoff. The vote was unanimous, and the sum adds three days at R$500,000 (about US$88,000) from 17 to 19 October to six days at R$1 million (about US$177,000) from 20 to 25 October.
Why It Matters for US Readers
European regulators can fine a US-listed company (NASDAQ: META) hundreds of millions of dollars for how an app asks permission, not only for what it does with data. The €805 million is about 0.47% of Meta’s worldwide turnover, the Garante says, so the sum is small for the company while the product orders are not.
If Meta misses the 60-day deadline, the Garante says the feature cannot be switched on for anyone without valid consent. The release adds that Meta denies using the photos to train artificial intelligence, a point this proceeding did not examine.
The Brazil Contrast in Proportion
The Brazilian sum is about 0.15% of the Italian one (US$1.3 million against US$890 million), and it builds on nine days of non-compliance rather than 20 million affected users. We found no Brazilian regulator decision on Facebook’s gallery feature, and the Italian order covers only Italy.
What To Watch
Meta must tell the Garante within 30 days which steps it has started and within 90 days which measures it has adopted. Counting from the 14 November announcement, that is about 14 December 2026 and 12 February 2027, though the Garante does not state the exact start of the clock.
The 60-day deadline for a separate consent request falls around 13 January 2027 on the same count. The Garante has also reserved the right to examine, separately, a 2026 feature that processes gallery content in the cloud.
What It Means for You
Facebook users on Android can see in their phone settings which photo permission the app holds. Users in Italy will have to be asked separately for this feature within the 60 days.
For investors, the fine is a small cost against Meta’s turnover but a reminder of regulatory risk in Europe. It changes nothing for Brazilian users of Facebook or Instagram.
What Is Not Known
It is not known how Meta will respond to the Italian decision or whether it will appeal. We could not confirm whether the wider Brazilian inquiry into the campaigns continues.
The Garante’s release does not say how many of the 20 million users actually had the feature active. It also does not give the exact day the 60-day period starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Italian body fined Meta, and for what?
The Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, Italy’s data protection authority, fined Meta Platforms Ireland €805 million (about US$890 million). It concerns a Facebook feature that suggested photos from Android galleries without valid consent.
Is this a competition case?
No. The fine comes from the data protection authority under a privacy rule, not from the competition authority.
How much is Brazil’s fine in dollars?
Brazil’s electoral court fined Meta’s Brazilian unit R$7.5 million, about US$1.3 million at R$5.6518 per dollar. It punished missed court orders in the 2026 runoff, not a privacy breach.
What must Meta do in Italy?
Within 60 days it must ask for separate, specific consent and keep the feature off by default. It must report started steps within 30 days and adopted measures within 90 days.
Sources: Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, press release of 14 November 2026 (https://www.garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10321080); Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, news notice of 10 November 2026 (https://www.tse.jus.br/comunicacao/noticias/2026/Novembro/tse-multa-facebook-em-r-7-5-milhoes-por-descumprir-determinacoes-judiciais); European Central Bank euro reference rates, 13 November 2026 (https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/D.USD.EUR.SP00.A); Banco Central do Brasil PTAX series (https://olinda.bcb.gov.br/olinda/servico/PTAX/versao/v1/aplicacao).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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