Meta is fined a record €1.2 billion for violating data rules in Europe

US technology group Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp) has been fined €1.2 billion for violating European data protection standards, the largest punishment imposed in Europe for this infraction.

Meta, which intends to appeal, was convicted for having “proceeded with the transfer of personal data” of Facebook users from the European Economic Area to the United States, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) explained.

The commission acts on behalf of the European Union (EU) to monitor compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because the American group’s European headquarters are in Ireland.

The ruling also orders Meta to “suspend all transfers of personal data to the United States within five months” of being notified of the decision and to comply with the GDPR within six months, the CPS added.

The fine, the largest ever imposed by a data protection regulatory agency in Europe, resulted from an investigation that began in 2020.

Meta, however, considers it “unjustifiable and unnecessary” and will appeal to the courts to try to suspend the fine, the social media giant said in a statement.

“Thousands of companies and organizations rely on the ability to transfer data between the EU and the United States.”

“There is a fundamental legal conflict from the US government over European data access and privacy rights,” the California-based company added.

THIRD FINE IN 2023

Meta expects the United States and EU to adopt a new legal framework for transferring personal data in the coming months, following an agreement in principle reached last year.

This is the third fine against Meta in the EU since the start of 2023 and the fourth in six months.

In January, the CPS announced a nearly €400 million fine for infringements in using personal data for advertising purposes in its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp apps.

In March, the fine was €5.5 million for breaching the GDPR with WhatsApp messaging service.

Meta has since committed to changing its terms of use in Europe to continue collecting and processing the personal data of its European users.

The punishments come amid increased controls and lawsuits in the European Union and the United States against the group of companies known as GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple) and of the measures recently adopted against Chinese TikTok.

In 2021, Amazon was fined €746 million in Luxembourg for violating the RGPD.

With information from AFP

News Europe, English news Europe, Meta, EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

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