Facebook receives a new fine of 390 million euros for violating European regulations

Le groupe Meta, la maison-mère de Facebook, a écopé ce mercredi 4 janvier de deux lourdes amendes totalisant 390 million d’euros pour violation du règlement européen sur les données (GDPR), announcé le régulateur irlandais, qui agit au nom de the European Union.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) said in a statement that Meta breached “its transparency obligations” and relied on an incorrect legal basis “for its processing of personal data for advertising purposes.”

This sanction follows the adoption in early December of three binding decisions by the European Data Protection Board (EDPS), the European regulator for the sector. One of them, relating to WhatsApp, was subsequently notified to the DPC and will be the subject of a decision next week.

Privacy group Noyb, which initiated the three complaints against the group, accused Meta of reinterpreting consent “as a simple civil law contract,” which does not allow you to opt out of targeted advertising. In October 2021, the Irish authority had originally proposed a draft decision validating the legal basis used by Facebook and suggesting a fine of €26-36 million for lack of transparency.

The French Cnil and other regulators had expressed their disagreement with this sanction project, considered too weak. They had asked the EDPS to adjudicate the dispute, and the EDPS agreed with them on the question of the legal basis.

goal will appeal

The Noyb association celebrated a decision this Wednesday that it believes will force Meta to establish “a yes/no consent option” for the use of the personal data of its users, otherwise the company “will not be able to use their data for personalized advertising “.

Meta said he was “disappointed” with the decisions and indicated his intention to appeal, “both in substance and in the fines,” in a statement sent to AFP. “The debate on the legal bases” for the processing of personal data “takes time and companies face a lack of regulatory certainty on the subject,” the company estimates.

The Irish Constable already fined the Californian giant in September for 405 million euros for failures in the treatment of minors’ data, and in November for the sum of 265 million euros for not having sufficiently protected the data of its users.