Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Handed Biggest Data Protection Fine

Meta Fined Heavily For User Data Blunders

On 22nd May, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) announced that Meta, formerly called Facebook, has been fined €1.2 billion (about $1.3BN). This sanction is enforced by the EU against the company for breaching conditions set out in the pan-EU regulation governing transfers of personal data.

As per the breach, Meta is accused of exporting data to a so-called third-party nation (the US in this case) without guaranteeing adequate protection of an individual’s privacy. Following the fine, the company will be expected to stop exporting European user data to the US for processing.

In a press release, Andrea Jelinek, EDPB’s chair said the following, “The EDPB found that Meta IE’s [Ireland’s] infringement is very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous. Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.”

The EDPB also confirmed that this is the largest fine ever so far under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As TechCrunch reports, the previous record holder was Amazon who were fined $887M. Amazon was fined for misusing customer data and using the information for ad-targeting.

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Meta’s Reaction

After the announcement, Meta was quick to respond to the fine in a blog post written by Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, and Jennifer Newstead their chief legal officer. The company dubbed the fine as “unjustified and unnecessary” while reiterating that it will appeal the decision.

The blog post read, “We are appealing these decisions and will immediately seek a stay with the courts who can pause the implementation deadlines, given the harm that these orders would cause, including to the millions of people who use Facebook every day.”

In the blog post, the company claimed that the company was at fault only because of the disconnect between EU and US law and not their privacy practices. The company representatives also said that the decision was going to set a dangerous precedent.

Meta’s insistent refusal is because they feel they are being “singled out” in an industry where many companies have complex webs of data transfers.

Facebook’s president said, “We are therefore disappointed to have been singled out when using the same legal mechanism as thousands of other companies looking to provide services in Europe. This decision is flawed, unjustified, and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and the US.”