Italy fines Meta $887m for accessing Android users’ photos and videos
The fine is among the largest an Italian authority has imposed on a tech giant and Meta says it plans to appeal the decision Italy’s data protection agency has fined Facebook parent company Meta €805m ($887m) for accessing users’ photos without their specific consent. Through the Facebook application for Android devices, Meta accessed photographs, videos and related metadata belonging to Italian…
Italy's data protection agency has imposed a substantial fine of €805 million ($887 million) on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for accessing users' photos and videos without their explicit consent. This is one of the largest fines ever imposed on a technology company in Italy. The agency found that the Facebook app for Android devices accessed users' photographs, videos, and related metadata without obtaining specific consent and without providing proper information.
Meta has stated it plans to appeal the decision, calling the fine disproportionate. The company's spokesperson said they "strongly disagree" with the assessment by the regulators and the assessment of the fine as "disproportionate." The regulator noted that Meta requested a single authorization for its gallery suggestions feature, which suggested photos and videos from users' phone galleries as post ideas.
The regulation did not clearly inform users that this feature also involved accessing their photo galleries, and how to disable it. In determining the fine, the authority considered the high number of people affected—around 20 million Android users in Italy—and the ongoing infringement for those who have not updated the app or gave consent.
The fine represents roughly 0.4% of Meta's 2025 annual turnover of $201 billion, based on a net profit of $60.5 billion.
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