Italy’s Data Protection Authority has fined Meta €805m (£670; $887m) for accessing Android users’ photos without their specific consent — one of the largest penalties an Italian authority has ever imposed on a technology company.
The regulator said Meta did not properly inform about 20 million smartphone users that it had access to their photos and videos through a feature of the Facebook app. That feature suggests images and videos stored in a phone’s gallery as ideas for posts.
Facebook obtained access to users’ photo galleries through a single app-wide authorization. The notice users saw beforehand did not make clear that the permission would also allow Facebook to generate post suggestions based on pictures held on the device, the authority said.
The regulator ordered Meta to disable the feature by default and to seek users’ consent separately within 60 days.
In setting the penalty, the authority cited the high number of people affected and the fact that the practice is still ongoing “for those who have not updated the app and for those who have already given their consent to the system.” It also pointed to Meta’s lack of cooperation.
Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, has not publicly commented on the decision.
The Italian fine follows a far larger penalty in the United States. Last month a judge in New Mexico ordered the company to pay $25bn (£18.6bn) after finding that it had spent years lying to the public about how it handled Facebook user data — its largest fine to date over its business practices.