Abstract:
Italy’s data protection agency said on Saturday it had fined U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms 805 million euros ($887 million) after an investigation found the company accessed the photos and videos of Android users without their consent and without informing them. The fine is equivalent to approximately 0.47% of Meta's global revenue.
The agency said in a statement that Meta had obtained the photos and videos of Android users through a function of the Facebook application, which would recommend content in the user's personal album for publication.
The statement pointed out that Meta needs to cancel the default enabled state of this feature within 60 days and obtain user consent separately.
The regulator said the investigation, which began in 2025, did not cover the possibility of using the content to train artificial intelligence models. Meta denies this practice exists.
The agency also added that it reserves the right to conduct a separate evaluation of a new feature launched in 2026 that will allow content in users’ photo albums to be processed in the cloud.
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