Italian authorities have penalized tech giant Meta with a fine of 805 million euros, equivalent to approximately $887 million, for gathering user images without proper permission.
Unauthorised Access to Smartphone Galleries
The Italian data privacy authority, known as Garante, stated that the Facebook application on Android operating systems accessed photos, videos, and related metadata stored on the smartphones of Italian users without obtaining specific consent and failing to provide adequate notification.
The penalty centers on the feature titled “Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook,” which recommends media files from a user’s phone gallery to share while they browse the platform. According to the regulator, this functionality breaches Italian legislation that enforces the European Union ePrivacy directive.
Flawed Consent Process and Record Fine
Garante pointed out that the mechanism used by the app to gather user agreement was overly broad, preventing individuals from completely understanding the precise permissions granted upon acceptance. Furthermore, the suggestion tool was activated automatically by default.
The 805 million euro penalty stands as the most substantial fine ever issued by the Italian regulatory body by a wide margin. The agency noted that an estimated 20 million Italian Android users may have been impacted by the practice.
The authority also pointed to an uncooperative attitude from Meta, adding that a previous infraction that led to a penalty in 2019 played a role in determining the outcome. The financial penalty represents about 0.47 percent of Meta’s worldwide revenue.
The investigation did not examine whether the collected content was utilised for training artificial intelligence models, a claim that Meta rejects. Meta retains the opportunity to challenge the ruling through an appeal and has not yet issued a public statement regarding the decision.
