Meta Hit With Record €1.2 Billion Fine Over EU Data Rules
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has been hit with a record €1.2bn fine by the Irish Data Protection Commission for breaching the European Union’s privacy regulations.
The company was found to have violated the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by transferring personal information of European Facebook users to the US without adequate safeguards against US data surveillance.
This is the largest GDPR violation fine ever imposed by the EU. Other tech giants like Amazon have also faced fines for data protection breaches, with Luxembourg fining Amazon €746m.
Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have received multiple fines ranging from €225m to €405m from the Irish regulator.
The Irish regulator noted that Meta’s use of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for data transfer did not sufficiently protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of EU citizens.
The EU regulator is expected to demand that Meta stops using complex legal instruments for transferring EU data to the US.
In 2020, the European Court of Justice declared a data transfer agreement between the EU and the US as void, raising concerns about surveillance.
