Meta fined $414M for targeted advertising GDPR breaches

Facebook Ireland

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Meta Ireland a total of 390 million euros (U.S. $414 million) for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by forcing users to agree their personal data can be used for targeted advertising to access Facebook and Instagram.

Of the penalty total, €210 million (U.S. $223 million) relates to Facebook breaches and €180 million (U.S. $191 million) to Instagram breaches, the regulator announced Wednesday. Complaints against the platforms were lodged the day the GDPR came into force in May 2018.

Meta Ireland must also bring its data processing operations into compliance with the decision within three months. The company said it plans to appeal.

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