Why has Meta been fined 1.2 billion and what are the consequences of the penalty?
The European Union takes the digital privacy of its citizens very seriously. Social networking companies that do not comply with its regulations on the continent end up facing lawsuits that result in fines of millions of dollars. That’s what has happened to Meta, which yesterday learned that it will have to pay 1.2 billion euros for not complying with the rules set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The fine was brought by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and has become. the largest financial penalty on a multinational ever made within the EU over the data issue. Before it, the record was held by the €746 million fine on Amazon in 2021.
Why has Meta been fined?
Although it became known yesterday that Mark Zuckerberg’s firm would have to pay 1.2 billion euros, the lawsuit was filed in 2020. An investigation determined that Meta had breached Article 46 of the GDPR.
This article states that “the controller or the processor shall may transmit personal data to a third country or international organization only if he or she has given appropriate assurances and provided that the data subjects have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies.”
Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, and the company’s chief legal officer, Jennifer Newstead, believe the fine is “unwarranted and unnecessary” and assert that they will seek a stay of the orders through the courts. According to them, the problem is that there is a conflict of laws between the US and Europe.
What does the privacy fine entail?
The EU had financially sanctioned Meta before, but not with such a high figure. Specifically, it fined the company 405 million for Instagram in 2022, and 225 million for WhatsApp in 2021. There have also been other cases such as the aforementioned Amazon case. In spite of this, the new sanction seems that it will entail. a before and after in privacy in Europe.
The transfer of data between the continent and the US has been an inconvenience for years. The Meta case has brought the problem to the table in the appellate release and requires both sides to come to an agreement with Privacy Shield, which aims to resolve the conflict of interest.
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