The Irish personal data police has imposed a fine of 405 million euros on Instagram, owned by the company Meta (parent company of Facebook), reveals the American media Politico. The Irish Commission accuses the social network of various breaches of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), some of which target underage users. More specifically, the fine targets the publication of email addresses and phone numbers belonging to minors.
Second highest fine
The investigation began at the end of 2020, when complaints had been filed that revealed that this data was publicly accessible by users of the social network. In question, the desire of some young users to transform their account into a “professional” account, which requires that these contact details be publicly accessible.
Under its terms of service, Instagram allows anyone over the age of 13 to create an account, although the platform never controls the age of users. Millions of young women and men ages 13-18 use Instagram in this way.
This is the second highest fine imposed by the Irish regulator under the GDPR, after the 746 million disbursed by Amazon in July 2021. It is also the third fine imposed on the Meta company, after those of WhatsApp (225 million). and Facebook (17). million). And it probably won’t be the last, as the Commission is currently working on at least six investigations targeting the social media giant.
Source: BFM TV
