The Data Protection Commission of Ireland has fined Meta, the owner of social giant Facebook, $410 million (€390 million) over the use of customer data in advertising.
The regulatory commission said the fine was for using user data for online advertising in violation of European Union (EU) data protection rules. The commission’s regulator said Facebook and Instagram could not ‘force consent’, saying “customers have to accept how their data is used”.
Meta authorities, on the other hand, say they are ‘disappointed’ in this regard. And soon they are planning to appeal against it. Meta insists it will not stop serving ‘personalized’ ads on its platform because of the decision.
However, according to the Irish Times, Meta has set aside $2.12 billion against possible EU fines in 2023.
Incidentally, Facebook and Instagram have their European headquarters in Ireland. As a result they are led by the Data Protection Commission to enforce EU data laws. Earlier, in November last year, DPC had fined Meta $265 million for leaking personal data of billions of Facebook users online.