Meta had already gone through a controversy less than a month ago when its flagship company, Facebook, was questioned by evaluation committees since they pointed out that it was detected that the platform gave preferential treatment to the verification of false accounts and that it favored the spread of fake news.
The body had already sanctioned to the Californian giant with 405 million euros in September due to failures in the treatment of data of minors, and with 265 million in November for not sufficiently protecting the data of its users.
The sanction of this Wednesday is a consequence of the adoption of three binding decisions by the european data protection committee in early December.
The first two referred to violations related to Facebook (for which the fine amounts to 210 million euros) and instagram (for 180 million euros), and the third, related to WhatsAppwas subsequently notified and its application will be decided next week.
In early December, when the European Union anticipated the sanctions that it would apply against Meta, the company’s shares were they collapsed 7% in one day.
The American company has its European headquarters in the Republic of Irelandso it is up to the Irish regulator to apply the sanctions.
The European Center for Digital Rights Noyb, a privacy advocacy group, filed the three complaints against Meta and accused the group of reinterpreting the 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 that validated the legal basis used by Facebook and suggested a fine of between 26 and 36 million euros for lack of transparency.
But the regulatory bodies from various countries disagreed for considering the penalty too low and they asked the European committee to resolve the dispute.
Noyb applauded the decision today considering that it will force Meta to implement a “consent option yes/no” for the use of personal data of its users for personalized advertising.
Goal was “disappointed” by the resolution and expressed its intention to appeal “both the fund and the fines”in a statement broadcast to the AFP news agency.
“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 issue“said the group.
“These decisions do not prevent targeted or personalized advertising” and “advertisers can continue to use our platforms to reach potential customers, grow their business and create new markets,” he added.
The company also tried last month to close another of its iconic cases of embezzlement of user data, as was the case of Cambridge Analytica, a scandal in which the company used data from 250 million users for the benefit of third parties. The company offered to pay $725 million but never acknowledged committing any wrongdoing.
Source: Ambito
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