From today Meta adds a new fine imposed by the European Union due to non-compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD), specifically for carrying out transfers of data from European Facebook users to the US.
The fine amounts to €1.2 billion and it is the highest data protection sanction issued by the EU to date. Thus surpassing the €746M applied to Amazon in 2021. This sanction is the result of an investigation carried out by the Irish Data Protection Authority and has been approved by the European Data Protection Board.
Andrea Jelinekpresident of the EDPB, explained that the body finds the infringement of Meta especially serious “since it is about transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous. Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is enormous. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizations that serious breaches have far-reaching consequences”. It is clear that the EU does not want big companies to laugh at its data protection regulations.
Meta’s answer
Meta has been given a time limit of six months from the final notification to stop sending data to the US, however the company has already announced that will appeal the EU decision. He has also stated that there will be no disruption to his Facebook services in Europe and has sought to highlight the fact that “the ability to transfer data across borders is critical to the functioning of the global open Internet.”
Likewise, Meta maintains that on the issue of data transfers, it should be both powers (the EU and the US) who reach an agreement. In this regard, the company referred to the Privacy Shielda legal mechanism signed in 2016 by the European Union and the United States that regulated the transfer and protection of data from one side of the Atlantic to the other, but which has been relegated after the entry into force of the GDPR. Meta complains and hides behind the fact that this has generated “considerable legal and regulatory uncertainty.”
It is not the first time that Meta has faced this type of sanctions
The tech giant started this 2023 on the wrong foot, receiving a new fine from the EU. The Irish Data Protection Commission sanctioned her with €390 million for considering that illegally obtained permissions to carry out personalized advertising on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.
This was because these social networks presented users with very extensive advertising agreements that included this consent. If the agreement is not accepted, you cannot use the platforms, so you are forcing people to assume all the conditions imposed.
Likewise, previously, in September 2022, Instagram was also sanctioned for the improper handling of data of children and adolescents, having to assume a fine of 475 million euros.
Photo: Depositphotos
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