Italy fines Meta €805m over access to Android users' photos
Italy's data protection authority, the state body that enforces privacy rules, has fined Meta €805 million (about £670 million, or $887 million) for accessing Android users' photos without their specific consent. According to BBC News, about 20 million smartphone users were not properly informed that a feature in the Facebook app gave Meta access to their photos and videos.
The feature suggests pictures and clips from a user's phone gallery as ideas for posts. Facebook asked for access to users' photo galleries through a single app-wide permission. That permission did not make clear that it would be used to generate suggestions based on gallery photos.
The regulator cited the high number of people affected. It also said the conduct was still ongoing for users who had not updated the app or who had already consented, and pointed to what it described as Meta's lack of co-operation.
The regulator gave Meta 60 days to turn the photo-suggestion feature off 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.
