The European Data Protection Board, has fined Meta, the owner of Facebook, the world’s largest and most popular social media company, with a fine of 1.3 billion dollars for the alleged trafficking of personal information of European service users.
The Data Protection Board issued the fine on Monday under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU’s data protection law. Along with that, the board has also banned the processing of personal information of European users of Facebook for the next six months.
In a statement issued by the European Data Protection Board on Monday, it is confirmed that this is the highest fine imposed by the European Data Protection Board for data trafficking.
On behalf of Meta, however, it has been said that the company authorities will approach the court against this fine of European data protection.
Andrea Jelinek, Chairman of the European Data Protection Board, said in a statement on Monday, “Millions of people across Europe use Facebook. Therefore, the amount of trafficking of personal information is also huge and it has come to our investigation that these information have been trafficked quite consistently and systematically”.
“In Europe, violating someone’s personal privacy means interfering with their personal freedom. With this unexpected fine, we want to send a warning to social media that anyone in Europe who violates the privacy of others will face far-reaching consequences.”
Meanwhile, in a counter message on Monday, the US-based company Meta said that the problem on which the European Union has issued the fine is not due to Meta’s negligence, but it is a ‘legal’ complication.
Nick Clegg, the top executive of the global affairs department of the Meta headquarters, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that, being a US-based company, Meta is obliged to operate the company in accordance with US laws and regulations. US laws on protecting personal data and privacy differ from those in Europe.
The company’s statement also said that European and US policymakers have begun meeting to address the issue and that an ambitious solution is on the way. This fine was issued in the meantime. In the statement, Meta’s two policy-making officials said that Meta will go to court against this decision of the European Data Protection Board.