Facebook fined record $1.3 billion, 5 months to stop EU-US data flows
Meta was fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) by its top data protection authority in the European Union over its handling of user data and given five months to stop transferring user data to the United States.
The fine imposed by Ireland’s data protection commissioner (DPC) over Meta’s continued transfer of personal data surpassed the previous EU data protection record of €746 million, which was handed down by Luxembourg to Amazon.com Inc in 2021, the DPC said in a statement on Monday.
In a statement, Meta said it would appeal the decision, including the “unjustified and unnecessary fine”, and would seek a stay of the orders in the courts.
The long-running battle over where Facebook keeps its data began a decade ago after Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems launched a legal challenge over the risk of US snooping in light of data leaked by former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
Meta said last month it was waiting for a new agreement to facilitate the secure transfer of EU citizens’ personal data to the US to be fully implemented before it had to suspend the transfers.
That would mean its earlier warning that it could force it to suspend Facebook services in Europe would not materialize.
Officials have said the new data protection framework – agreed by the European Union and the US government in March 2022 – could be ready by July, but Meta also warned it was possible it might not be ready in time.
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