What happened: Facebook owner Meta Platforms has been fined a record €1.2B ($1.3B) by European Union regulators for transferring user information to the U.S. Details: The Irish Data Protection Commission, which oversees Meta's operations in the EU, accused the company of breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by transferring personal data despite a 2020 European court ruling outlawing the practice. In addition to the fine, the DPC has ordered Meta to halt the transfer of European Facebook users' information to the U.S. and delete any data that was already transferred in the last six months. What the numbers say: The €1.2B fine is the largest ever for a GDPR violation, surpassing the previous €746M record imposed on Amazon in 2021. Meta has already faced fines of about €1.3B from the Irish DPC since 2021 for various GDPR violations across its platforms. However, the latest penalty stands out as the largest, nearly equaling the combined amount of the previous fines. Where to see the impact: The ruling applies only to Facebook, not Instagram and WhatsApp, with no immediate disruption to Facebook's EU service. However, it may impact Meta's user data storage, including photos, friend connections, and direct messages, along with its ad targeting capabilities. The record-breaking fine underscores the growing risks for companies not adhering to the EU's privacy regulations. What's next: Meta intends to appeal the decision and is optimistic about creating a new EU-U.S. data transfer and sharing agreement, which could take effect before the Irish regulator's deadlines and render the ruling ineffective.
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