Giant tech company Meta has been slammed with a record fine of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) by the European privacy regulators for breaching data regulation.
Reports reveal that Meta breached conditions set out in the pan-EU regulation governing transfers of personal data to third countries without ensuring adequate protection of users’ information. The tech company was also ordered to halt exporting European Union user data to the US for processing in compliance with the GDPR.
Speaking on the issue, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) chairman Andrea Jelinek said,
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“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 organizations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.
“Given the seriousness of the infringement, the EDPB found that the starting point for calculation of the fine should be between 20% and 100% of the applicable legal maximum. The EDPB also instructed the IE DPA to order Meta IE to bring processing operations into compliance with Chapter V GDPR, by ceasing the unlawful processing, including storage, in the U.S. of personal data of European users transferred in violation of the GDPR, within 6 months after notification of the IE SA’s final decision”.
The huge fine slammed on Meta is reported to be the biggest since the EU’s strict data privacy regime took effect five years ago, surpassing Amazon’s 746 million Euro fine in 2021 for data protection violations.
Meanwhile, Meta, which had warned investors last year April that 10% of its global ad revenue would be at risk if the EU data flow suspension were to be implemented, vowed that it would appeal the sanction, asking the court to put the decision on hold.
The company’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg responded by saying,
“Thousands of businesses and organizations rely on the ability to transfer data between the EU and the US to operate and provide everyday services. This is not about one company’s privacy practices, there is a fundamental conflict of law between the US government’s rules on access to data and European privacy rights, which policymakers are expected to resolve in the summer.
“We will appeal the ruling, including the unjustified and unnecessary fine, and seek a stay of the orders through the courts. There is no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe”.
Meta case might force the social media company to carry out a costly and complex revamp of its operations if it is forced to stop shipping user data across the Atlantic.