Italy's data protection authority has fined Meta €805m for a Facebook feature that reached into the photo galleries of about 20 million Android users, judging that the warning given beforehand never made plain that a single permission would also let the app build suggestions from stored pictures and videos. Meta, which insists the device-level permission was real consent, has said it will appeal, and the dispute now turns on a familiar question in the digital age: whether a yes given in a few words can truly stand for an understanding of what was agreed to. The case lands amid a difficult seas
Italy Fines Meta €805m Over Access to 20 Million Users' Photos Without Clear Consent
A single permission, and a notice that didn't explain what it unlocked
Mark
Start me off simply. What exactly did Meta do wrong, according to Italy?
Mimi
The regulator says Facebook asked Android users for access to their photo galleries in one broad permission, and the notice beforehand didn't explain that this would let the app suggest posts built from their own photos and videos. About 20 million users were affected.
Mark
So the complaint is about clarity, not about photos being leaked or sold?
Luke
That's an important distinction, and the reporting only supports the clarity point. The regulator's finding is that users weren't properly informed. Nothing in this account says the photos were shared or misused.
Mimi
Right, and that's why Meta's response matters. It says the feature is simple, needs device permission first, and can be switched off in settings at any time.
Mark
Why did the fine come out so large?
Mimi
The regulator named three things: the number of people affected, the fact that it's still ongoing for people who haven't updated the app or who already gave consent, and what it called Meta's lack of co-operation.
Luke
Worth noting those are the regulator's characterisations. We don't have Meta's account of the co-operation point, only its broader statement that the fine is disproportionate.
Mark
What happens in the next two months?
Mimi
Meta has 60 days to turn the feature off by default and seek consent separately. It also says it will appeal.
Mark
And the New Mexico ruling last month, is that connected?
Luke
Not as far as the reporting shows. It's a separate case, a $25bn order over what the judge found was years of misleading the public about Facebook user data. It's context for Meta's bad run, not evidence in the Italian case.
Der Puls
- An Italian regulator has slapped Meta with an €805m fine, one of the largest any Italian authority has levied on a tech giant.
- The core charge is that about 20 million Android users were never clearly told a Facebook feature could scan their phone photos and videos.
- Meta calls the fine disproportionate and says it will appeal, insisting users grant permission on their device and can revoke it at any time.
- The regulator has set a 60-day deadline to switch the feature off by default and seek separate consent, with the conduct still ongoing for some users.
- The ruling follows a $25bn New Mexico penalty last month, leaving Meta under mounting pressure as other regulators watch for similar moves.
Italy's data protection authority has fined Meta €805m for a Facebook feature that reached into the photo galleries of about 20 million Android users, judging that the warning given beforehand never made plain that a single permission would also let the app build suggestions from stored pictures and videos. Meta, which insists the device-level permission was real consent, has said it will appeal, and the dispute now turns on a familiar question in the digital age: whether a yes given in a few words can truly stand for an understanding of what was agreed to. The case lands amid a difficult season for the company, and its outcome will be read as a marker of how far regulators will press the gap between what users click and what they are told.
Italy's Data Protection Authority has fined Meta €805m, roughly £670m or $887m, over a Facebook feature that reached into the photo galleries of Android users. The regulator found that around 20 million people were not properly told the app could access their photos and videos, and that the feature, which suggests pictures from a phone's gallery as ideas for new posts, depended on a single app-wide authorisation whose notice never mentioned that suggestions would be drawn from photos stored on the device.
In fixing the amount, the authority weighed the large number of people affected, the fact that the conduct was still continuing for those who had not updated the app or had already agreed to the system, and what it described as Meta's lack of co-operation. It is among the largest penalties an Italian authority has ever imposed on a technology company.
Meta says it strongly disagrees with the findings and the size of the fine, and plans to appeal. The company describes the tool as a simple way to share photos and videos, noting that users must grant permission on their device and can change it at any time. The dispute is narrow but important: Meta treats the device permission as consent, while the regulator says a single authorisation, preceded by an incomplete explanation, did not truly inform anyone.
The ruling comes weeks after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25bn for years of misleading the public about its handling of user data. Now the company has 60 days to switch the feature off by default and seek consent separately, even as its appeal proceeds. Whether other regulators take a similar look at the feature is the question to watch.
Italy's Data Protection Authority has fined Meta €805m, about £670m or $887m, over a feature in the Facebook app that reached into the photo galleries of Android users. The regulator says roughly 20 million smartphone users were not properly told that the app could access their photos and videos.
The feature at the center of the case suggests pictures and videos from a person's phone gallery as ideas for new posts. To work, Facebook asked for access to the gallery through a single, app-wide authorisation. The Italian regulator's finding is that the notice shown beforehand did not make clear that granting this permission would also let Facebook generate suggestions based on the photos stored on the device.
The authority has given Meta 60 days to disable the feature by default and to seek users' consent for it separately. The fine is among the largest an Italian authority has ever imposed on a technology company.
In setting the amount, the regulator said it weighed "the high number of people affected." It also pointed to the fact that the conduct is "still ongoing for those who have not updated the app and for those who have already given their consent to the system." A third factor it cited was "Meta's lack of co-operation."
Meta has told the BBC it plans to appeal. In a statement, a spokesperson said the company "strongly disagree[s]" with the regulator's assessment of the facts, its application of the law, and what it called the disproportionate level of the fine. The company described the tool as a straightforward feature that helps people post photos and videos to Facebook. It said people must give permission on their device before the feature can operate, and that they can change that permission at any time in their settings.
The disagreement, then, is narrow but significant. Meta points to the device-level permission as the consent. The regulator says that a single authorisation, preceded by a notice that did not explain the suggestion function, was not enough to inform users about what they were agreeing to.
The ruling arrives soon after another heavy blow to the company. Last month, Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, was hit with what was described as its largest fine ever for its business practices. A US judge in New Mexico ordered it to pay $25bn, about £18.6bn, after finding that it had spent years lying to the public about how it handled Facebook user data.
What comes next is a clock and an appeal. Meta has 60 days to comply with the order to switch the feature off by default and ask for consent on its own, while its challenge to the fine and the underlying findings proceeds. Whether other regulators take a similar look at the same feature is the thing to watch.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We strongly disagree with the [regulator's] assessment of the facts, its application of the law, and the disproportionate level of the fine.— Meta spokesperson, to the BBC
The regulator cited the high number of people affected and Meta's lack of co-operation in setting the fine.— Italy's Data Protection Authority (paraphrased)
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