Meta hit with a $277 million fine over Facebook data leak

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a €265 million ($277 million) fine on Meta over the last year’s Facebook data leak incident. In the last 18 months, Meta has been forced to pay over €1 billion in fines in Europe.

Back in April last year, Facebook was hit hard by a data scraping incident that leaked 533 million users’ data, including their phone numbers, birth dates, email addresses, and locations. Since this information could be used for phishing and scam activities, EU regulators examined the case with great sensitivity. Additionally, some private data of prison officers, social workers, journalists, and sitting judges leaked online following the incident.

While Meta said “bad actors” are responsible for the data leak, DPC insisted that the company failed to meet GDPR obligations of “data protection by design and default.”

Meta is again facing a hefty fine by the Irish watchdog

This $277 million fine is the second hefty fine that the Ireland regulator is imposing on Meta. In September, Meta also faced a €405 million ($402 million) fine over Instagram’s privacy settings for children.

Meta spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that “Unauthorized data scraping is unacceptable and against our rules,” Additionally, the company will review the Irish watchdog decision, but appealing to that should be discussed within the company.

The Big Tech companies are facing numerous data privacy lawsuits both in the United States and Europe. The regulators are more determined to regulate Big Tech and their strategies for collecting sensitive data from users.

Last year, DPC slapped WhatsApp with a €225 million ($267 million) fine for not clarifying how it shares European data with Meta. Additionally, over 12 separate data breaches forced Meta to pay €17 million ($18.6 million) in fines.

While Meta is faced with over €1 billion in fines in Europe, its popular messenger app WhatsApp was recently hit by a data leak incident that has affected over 500 million users. So Meta should probably wait to receive another several hundred million euros fine. These fines are coming in the days when the company’s stock is struggling, and hiring is freezed due to uncertain economic conditions.