Italy fines Meta $880 million over accessing users' photos
Italian regulators have fined Facebook parent company Meta $880 million for accessing users' photos without their specific consent through the Android app.
The fine, announced on Saturday, stems from Meta accessing photographs, videos and related metadata belonging to Italian users through the Facebook application for Android devices. The company did not obtain specific consent and failed to properly inform users about this access, according to the Italian data protection authority.
Record penalty
Saturday's fine represents one of the largest penalties ever imposed by an Italian authority on a tech company. In 2021, Amazon received a 1.1 billion euro fine (approximately $1.2 billion) for breaching competition law, though this was later reduced on appeal to 752 million euros (about $829 million).
Global privacy issues
Meta has faced numerous privacy violations worldwide. In September, a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $25 billion to the state after a jury found Meta deceived consumers about its data privacy policies for years. The company stated it disagreed with the verdict.
Meta may appeal the latest Italian fine. The tech giant had not responded to requests for comment by Saturday afternoon.
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