Italy Fines Meta $880 Million For Accessing Android Users' Photos

Italy's data protection authority on Saturday fined Meta $880 million, ruling that the Facebook app for Android accessed Italian users' photos, videos and related metadata without their specific consent.^[1]

The regulator found that users had not been clearly informed that the app could reach into their device galleries and collect visual content and metadata, and concluded that Meta's consent mechanisms did not meet European Union privacy standards.^[1] The authority described the sanction as one of the largest it has ever imposed on a technology company and said Meta can appeal the decision in Italian courts.^[1]

Investigators focused on how the Facebook Android app interacted with smartphones once users installed it and granted broad permissions, examining whether those permissions were properly explained and limited to what was necessary for the service.^[1] Regulators said Meta failed to provide clear, granular options that would have allowed people to use core social networking functions without opening their entire photo and video libraries, and they criticized the company for not spelling out how long such data would be stored or with whom it might be shared.^[1]

Italian authorities framed the case as part of a broader effort to enforce the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which requires that access to sensitive data on personal devices be based on freely given, informed and specific consent rather than on bundled terms hidden in lengthy agreements.^[1] Previous European enforcement actions against major platforms have often centered on web tracking and targeted advertising, but Italian regulators said mobile app access to on-device media libraries raises distinct risks because photos and videos can reveal intimate details about users and their contacts.^[1]

Privacy advocates in Europe quickly pointed to the size of the fine as a signal that national watchdogs are prepared to impose steep penalties when they conclude that big technology platforms have exploited smartphone permissions in ways users did not expect. Business groups and some legal analysts, however, said the dispute over what counts as "specific" consent on mobile devices is likely to continue in court, given how many apps request broad access to photos and sensors as part of their basic setup.^[1] Meta has maintained in similar disputes that its products comply with EU rules and that users remain in control of their data, setting up a clash between the company's interpretation of informed consent and the far stricter view taken by some European regulators.^[1]

1. CBS News