Meta Platforms Inc., parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has again received two fines from the European privacy watchdog, for a total of 390 million euros. The company would not have complied with European GDPR rules, according to the Irish regulator Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC), which acts on behalf of the entire European Union.
The fine is related to how the company used customer data for personal ads on Facebook and Instagram. Meta now has three months to comply with European regulations.
Facebook was today fined 210 million euros and Instagram a fine of 180 million. In the terms of use of both social media channels, customers were obliged to accept personal advertisements. The investigation by the privacy watchdog came after complaints from the Austrian activist Max Schrems in 2018. In May of that year, the GDPR legislation came into force.
Meta responds by pointing out that there was a lack of clarity at the time about the legal basis for using certain ads. The company “completely disagrees” with the findings and will appeal.
It is not the first time that the American technology group has been fined in Europe. In September, Instagram was fined €405 million for its handling of minors’ data, and two months later, Meta was fined €265 million for failing to adequately protect personal data. DPC also has a dozen investigations against the group.
The largest fine for violation of the GDPR rules in Europe – 746 million euros – has so far been imposed on Amazon Inc by the Luxembourg regulator.
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