Italy has fined Meta €805 million for accessing users’ photos.
Italy’s data protection authority has imposed an €805 million fine on Meta Platforms after finding that Facebook accessed photos and video recordings stored on Android users’ mobile phones without explicit consent or adequate notice.
In a statement, the authority said the violation affected nearly 20 million users in Italy. It also said the application was able to access photos, videos and data associated with them.
The authority has further ordered Meta to add a separate consent requirement for users within 60 days and to keep the feature disabled by default. At the same time, it stressed that it retains the right to open a separate investigation into the privacy implications of processing images through cloud computing services.
The fine, imposed on Meta Platforms’ Irish subsidiary, amounts to approximately 0.47% of the company’s total global revenue.
