Meta Fined Record $1.3 Billion for Violating EU Rules on Data Transfers

Meta has copped one other enormous wonderful from regulators, with the European Data Protection Board (EDPU)  hitting Meta with a €1.2 billion penalty – equal to $1.3 billion USD – for transferring EU person information again to the US with out express permission or ample protections in place.

The wonderful, the most important of its variety in historical past, pertains to Meta’s information transfers since 2020, when the EU carried out its extra stringent GDPR regulations. The GDPR offers customers extra management over their private information and the way it’s used, and its implementation meant that Meta would wish to take extra definitive measures to guard EU citizen data.

Meta has repeatedly famous that its laws on this entrance are spelled out inside its Phrases of Service, however Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems argued that this was not in compliance with the intent of the EU coverage, and subsequently uncovered EU customers to information surveillance within the US, thus breaking worldwide regulation, and resulting in this newest wonderful.

Meta has additionally been ordered to carry its information transfers into compliance with the GDPR, or face potential suspension within the area.

As per EDPU:

“The EDPB found that Meta IE’s infringement is very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous. Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.”

In response, Meta has mentioned that it’ll appeal the decision, whereas additionally highlighting the dangers of fragmenting the online because of this strategy.

“Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos, restricting the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on. That’s why providing a sound legal basis for the transfer of data between the EU and the US has been a political priority on both sides of the Atlantic for many years.”

Meta says that it has been working in good religion with EU regulators on a new Data Privateness Framework, which might allow a extra collaborative decision to the problem, whereas additionally recognizing that Meta has acted in good religion in complying with present legal guidelines.

However now, Meta says, the EDPU has gone towards this, in issuing a wonderful based mostly on what it claims is an unfair studying of its efforts.

It’s a serious blow for the corporate, at a time when it’s already reeling from the worldwide downturn in advert spend, and restrictions on information assortment because of Apple’s iOS 14 replace. Meta’s culled thousands of jobs over the past year, and you’ll solely think about that this new wonderful will solely squeeze the corporate additional, because it continues to invest heavily in Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision.

And the ache will not be over for Meta but. Along with right this moment’s wonderful, Meta can also be up for civil litigation, resulting from an upcoming change in EU regulation, whereas it may additionally face one more significant loss in ad revenue because of any suspensions which will stem from this ruling.

As such, it’s no shock to see Meta difficult the wonderful. However authorized specialists don’t see any possible way for Meta to keep away from paying, or settling with the EU to a big diploma.

It’s additionally attention-grabbing from a knowledge switch perspective, amid broader debate round TikTok’s potential hyperlinks to the Chinese language Authorities. As Meta notes, shifts like this threat splintering the web, and siloing off totally different areas into their very own on-line fiefdoms, which may make future interplay extra restricted.

That could possibly be the top results of rulings like this – although it’s price additionally noting that Zuckerberg himself has, prior to now, made efforts to get TikTok restricted in the US on related grounds (although Zuckerberg has since famous that banning the app would set a ‘really bad long-term precedent’).

The following step will likely be a protracted courtroom battle, as Meta seeks to cut back the penalty. However finally, it does appear that Meta should pay, whereas it’ll additionally must replace its EU insurance policies in step with the ruling.