Social media giant Meta has been hit with an €805 million (£670 million; $887 million) fine by Turkish authorities for accessing the photos and videos of more than 20 million Android users without obtaining their explicit consent.
As reported by the BBC, Italy’s Data Protection Authority announced the penalty on Saturday following a probe into how Facebook used a post-suggestion feature to scan users’ mobile photo galleries.
The regulator stated that Meta failed to adequately inform users that granting Facebook permission to view their galleries would also allow the platform to generate content recommendations from locally stored images and videos.
According to the investigation, Facebook depended on a single app-wide permission to access device galleries without clearly disclosing that this consent covered photo recommendations.
The feature, known as “Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook”, was introduced in 2023 and was enabled by default.
According to the regulator, this setup meant users could unintentionally grant Facebook access to their entire photo libraries without fully grasping the implications of their consent.
Authorities have given Meta 60 days to disable the feature by default and introduce a secondary consent prompt explaining why gallery access is requested and how users can opt out.
The regulator added that the fine was calculated based on the duration of the alleged violation, the vast number of affected users, and Meta’s lack of cooperation throughout the probe.
Strongly contesting the decision, Meta announced plans to appeal, maintaining that the feature was designed simply to make it easier for users to share photos and videos on Facebook.
Backstory…
The development comes only three years after similar incident. In 2023, Meta was fined €1.2 billion by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission for transferring Facebook users’ personal data from the European Union to the United States in violation of data protection rules.
It was also ordered to bring its data transfers into compliance with European privacy requirements.
The company has faced several regulatory investigations and legal challenges in Europe over how it collects, processes and uses personal data, particularly concerns about whether users are adequately informed and given meaningful control over their information.
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