Current:Home > MarketsEuropean watchdog fines Meta $1.3 billion over privacy violations-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
European watchdog fines Meta $1.3 billion over privacy violations
View Date:2024-12-23 18:38:27
Tech giant Meta must pay a record 1.2 billion euros — nearly $1.3 billion — for breaching European Union privacy laws.
Meta, which owns Facebook, had continued to transfer user data from countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area to the United States despite being suspended from doing so in 2021, an investigation by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) found.
The unprecedented penalty from the European Data Protection Board, announced on Monday, is intended to send a strong signal to organizations "that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences," the regulator's chair, Andrea Jelinek, said in a statement.
Meta, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, plans to appeal the ruling and will seek to suspend the case from proceeding in court.
"This decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and U.S.," President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg and Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead said in a statement.
The privacy battle between Meta and EU courts began when an Austrian privacy activist won a decade-long lawsuit to invalidate a U.S.-E.U. data-moving pact.
Known as Privacy Shield, that agreement had allowed Facebook and other companies to transfer data between the two regions. It was struck down in 2020.
The DPC has also ordered Meta suspend all future data transfers within the next five months and make compliant all European data currently stored in the U.S. within the next six months. That's information including photos, friend connections, direct messages and data collected for targeted advertising.
The U.S. and the EU are currently negotiating a new data-moving agreement, called the Data Privacy Framework, and they are expected to reach a deal this summer. If that agreement is inked before the DPC's deadlines expire, "services can continue as they do today without any disruption or impact on users," Meta said in its statement.
DPC's fine on Meta is the largest penalty imposed by a European regulator on a tech company since the EU slapped Amazon with a 746 million euro fine in 2021.
The European Court of Justice has said the risk of U.S. snooping violates the fundamental rights of European users. And regulators say Meta has failed to sufficiently protect data from American spy agencies and advertisers.
There is currently no disruption to Facebook in Europe, Meta said in the statement.
veryGood! (16)
Related
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- Study Documents a Halt to Deforestation in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest After Indigenous Communities Gain Title to Their Territories
- Make Your Life Easier With 25 Problem-Solving Products on Sale For Less Than $21 on Prime Day 2023
- RHOBH's Garcelle Beauvais Shares Update on Kyle Richards Amid Divorce Rumors
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- 2023 ESPYS Winners: See the Complete List
- Pennsylvania Advocates Issue Intent to Sue Shell’s New Petrochemical Plant Outside Pittsburgh for Emissions Violations
- Most Federal Forest is Mature and Old Growth. Now the Question Is Whether to Protect It
- 'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
- The Surprising History of Climate Change Coverage in College Textbooks
Ranking
- Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse
- Twice as Much Land in Developing Nations Will be Swamped by Rising Seas than Previously Projected, New Research Shows
- Richard Simmons’ Rep Shares Rare Update About Fitness Guru on His 75th Birthday
- A Rare Plant Got Endangered Species Protection This Week, but Already Faces Threats to Its Habitat
- SNL's Chloe Fineman Says Rude Elon Musk Made Her Burst Into Tears as Show Host
- Pennsylvania Environmental Officials Took 9 Days to Inspect a Gas Plant Outside Pittsburgh That Caught Fire on Christmas Day
- New Wind and Solar Are Cheaper Than the Costs to Operate All But One Coal-Fired Power Plant in the United States
- Lift Your Face in Just 5 Minutes and Save $80 on the NuFace Toning Device on Prime Day 2023
Recommendation
-
Singles' Day vs. Black Friday: Which Has the Best Deals for Smart Shoppers?
-
In the Amazon, Indigenous and Locally Controlled Land Stores Carbon, but the Rest of the Rainforest Emits Greenhouse Gases
-
Six Environmental Justice Policy Fights to Watch in 2023
-
Illinois Put a Stop to Local Governments’ Ability to Kill Solar and Wind Projects. Will Other Midwestern States Follow?
-
U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
-
At CERAWeek, Big Oil Executives Call for ‘Energy Security’ and Longevity for Fossil Fuels
-
Vanderpump Rules' Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval Spotted Filming Season 11 Together After Scandal
-
Biden Administration Allows Controversial Arctic Oil Project to Proceed