Tech firm Meta on Monday was hit with a fine of $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion) for violating European Union data protection rules and ordered to stop transferring data collected from Facebook users in Europe to the United States. Furthermore, the Facebook-owned company has been ordered to bring its data transfers into compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
According to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, Meta failed to adhere to a 2020 ruling by the European Union’s top court, which stated that Facebook’s data transfers to the United States did not provide adequate protection against surveillance by American intelligence agencies.
This is the second fine against the company within the last six months. In January this year, the same company was slapped with a fine of €390 million ($414 million) for a breach of European Union (EU) privacy laws. It was accused of “forcing” subscribers to consent to the processing of their personal data for behavioural advertising and other personalised services. The Irish regulator has fined Meta more than any other tech firm and has 10 other inquiries open into the social media group’s platforms.
According to Andrea Jelinek the Chair of European Data Protection Board (EDPB) in a statement, “The EDPB found that Meta IE’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 organisations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.”
Meta has at least five months to comply to this ruling and this Meta fine applies only to Facebook and not to Instagram and WhatsApp.
In its response to the fine, Meta’s Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs & Jennifer Newstead, Chief Legal Officer, said, “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.”
“Ultimately, the invalidation of Privacy Shield in 2020 was caused by a fundamental conflict of law between the US government’s rules on access to data and the privacy rights of Europeans. It is a conflict that neither Meta nor any other business could resolve on its own. 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,” he added.
The company reiterated that there is already a political agreement to solve the underlying conflict of law. It said policymakers in both the EU and the US are on a clear path to resolving this conflict with the new Data Privacy Framework (DPF).
Meta added that “In March 2022, President Biden and Commission President Von der Leyen announced that they reached an agreement on the principles of a new framework to enable the free flow of transatlantic data. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have committed to fully implementing the DPF “as quickly as possible.” “
1 Comment
Pingback: Meta commences third round of layoffs as part of cost-cutting measures - Innovation Village | Technology, Product Reviews, Business