The EU Commission accuses Meta of violating the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through its data protection practices. In particular, concerns are raised about the processing of user data and the way in which Meta provides personalized advertising.
Meta receives historic punishment: EU sanctions data protection violations
The trial focuses on Meta's involvement in mass surveillance by Anglo-American secret services, which was revealed ten years ago by US whistleblower Edward Snowden. The Austrian data protection activist Max Schrems filed a complaint against Meta at the time.
The fine of over 1.2 billion euros represents one of the largest fines ever imposed by the EU in connection with data protection violations. It is intended to serve as a deterrent signal and make it clear that violations of data protection have serious consequences.
The fine imposed by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) even exceeds the previous record fine of 746 million euros against Amazon.com in Luxembourg. Furthermore, Meta is obliged to prevent any further transfer of European personal data to the USA, as the company remains subject to US surveillance laws.
Data protection dispute: Meta objects to EU decision
Meta has announced that it will appeal the EU Commission's decision and emphasized that the company always strives to comply with data protection regulations. At the same time, it is emphasized that the sanctions will in no way affect Meta's ongoing efforts to improve data protection.
The legal proceedings can extend over several years. In the meantime, a new data pact between the European Union and the USA could come into force that will regulate transatlantic data traffic.
The penalty against Meta highlights the increasing importance of data protection and the EU's determination to consistently punish violations of the GDPR. It also raises questions about the regulation of Big Tech companies and could have implications for the privacy practices of other tech giants.
Ongoing data protection violations: Meta receives another billion-dollar fine
The DPC (Irish Data Protection Authority) had refrained from taking action against Facebook in this matter for years. Ultimately, the DPC was obliged by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to impose a penalty against the social network. The current decision only affects Facebook and not other Meta Group services such as Instagram or WhatsApp. Meta was already fined €390 million by the DPC in January for forcing Facebook and Instagram users to consent to personalized advertising.
With the new penalty for Meta, the fines since the General Data Protection Regulation came into force five years ago amount to a total of four billion euros. Meta is now in the list of the ten highest fines six times, bringing the fines to 2.5 billion euros. The highest fine in Germany was 35 million euros and was paid by the fashion chain H&M in 2020 due to insufficient legal basis for data processing in its online shop.
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