1,300 million dollars (1,200 million euros). This is the highest fine ever received by a company by decision of the European Union, and more precisely from the “Irish Cnil” (Data Protection Commission, DPC). The latter has just announced this historic sanction on May 22. At issue: illegal transfers of personal data of European users by Facebook to the United States. The previous “record” was 746 million euros, a fine received by Amazon in 2021.
As the Politico site reminds us, Facebook is accused in particular of having stored the data of European users on the other side of the Atlantic, without sufficiently protecting them from possible surveillance by US authorities.
The former deputy prime minister of the UK, now a Facebook employee, refers to the clauses, which have therefore just been deemed illegal, allowing the transfer of personal data to the US, which are actually used by many other US platforms.
Operation questioned?
In fact, Facebook transfers the personal data of European users to servers based in the United States, officially for the proper functioning of the platform. And this, in a legal framework that remained largely questioned until then.
Faced with the ban on transferring such information, Facebook should be forced to change this operation to comply with European law, or risk further sanctions. With one potential bright spot for the company, though: As Politico reminds us, the platform has until October 12, 2023 to stop these data transfers.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States could adopt a framework agreement. The goal: for the American giants to be able to legally repatriate the personal information of European users, sufficiently protecting them from American intelligence services.
Source: BFM TV
