Meta is fined again by the EU for not protecting user data: 390 million euros

American social media giant GoalThe owner of Facebook has been fined 390 million euros for breaching European data protection regulations, the Irish regulator, acting on behalf of the European Union, has announced.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) said in a statement that Goal breached “your transparency obligations“and used the wrong legal basis”for your processing of personal data for advertising purposes” personalized. This sanction is a consequence of the adoption of three binding decisions by the European data protection committee at the beginning of December.

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The first two referred to offenses related to Facebook (for which the fine amounts to 210 million euros, about 222 million dollars) and Instagram (for 180 million euros, about 190 million dollars).

The third, relating to WhatsApp, was subsequently notified to the DPC and its application will be decided next week. The American company has its European headquarters in the Republic of Ireland, so it is up to the Irish regulator to apply the sanctions.

The DPC has already fined the Californian giant with 405 million euros in September for failures in the treatment of minors’ data, and with 265 million in November for not sufficiently protecting the data of its users.

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The privacy advocacy group Noyb, which filed the three complaints against Meta, accused the group of reinterpreting consent.”as a mere civil law contract”, which does not allow for the opt-out of targeted advertising.

In October 2021, the Irish authority initially proposed a draft decision validating the legal basis used by Facebook and suggesting a fine of between €26 million and €36 million for lack of transparency.

But the regulatory bodies of several countries disagreed as they considered the penalty too low and asked the European committee to resolve the dispute. Noyb applauded the decision of Wednesday, January 4, considering that will force Meta to implement a “consent option yes/no” for the use of the personal data of its users for personalized advertising.

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Meta was shown “disappointed” for the decision and expressed its intention to appeal “both the fund and the fines” in a statement transmitted to AFP. “The debate on the legal basis for the processing of personal data has been open for some time and companies face a lack of regulatory certainty on this issuethe group stated.

“These decisions do not prevent targeted or personalized advertising.” Y “advertisers can continue to use our platforms to reach potential customersgrow your business and create new markets”, he added.

Source: Elcomercio

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