Italian regulators have fined social media giant Meta €805m (£670; $887m) for accessing Android users’ photos without their specific consent.
Data Protection Violation
Italy’s Data Protection Authority stated that Meta failed to properly inform approximately 20 million smartphone users that it had access to their photos and videos through a Facebook app feature. The penalty ranks among the largest ever imposed by an Italian authority on a technology corporation.
The violation concerns a function that suggests photos and videos from a user’s smartphone gallery as ideas for posts. Facebook requested access to photo libraries via a single app-wide authorization. The Italian regulator explained that the preceding notice did not clarify that this permission would additionally enable Facebook to generate posting suggestions based on the contents of the gallery.
Regulatory Action and Previous Penalties
The regulator noted that it factored in the large volume of affected individuals and the reality that the practice continues for users who have not updated the application or who previously granted system consent. The authority additionally pointed to a lack of cooperation from Meta during the investigation.
Under the ruling, Meta has a period of 60 days to disable the feature by default and obtain separate consent from users. BBC News reached out to Meta to request a statement regarding the penalty.
Last month, Meta faced its largest-ever fine related to business practices when a United States judge in New Mexico ordered the company to pay $25bn (£18.6bn) following a determination that it spent years misleading the public about its user data handling.
