Meta fined $887 million in Italy over illegal use of user photos

Italy has announced a fine of 805 million euros ($887 million) for using photos and videos from Android user galleries on Facebook without special consent or proper disclosure.

According to the Associated Press, citing the Italian data protection authority, the use of the gallery access function when browsing Facebook violates the European privacy directive included in Italian law. The law protects smartphones as part of a person’s personal life and requires “free and informed consent” for such access.

"Investigators determined that this feature was enabled by default and that Facebook requested access to the gallery through a single permission covering multiple features of the app for different purposes," the material states.

Italian authorities gave Meta 60 days to disable the feature and obtain separate consent to use it. According to the agency, there are about 20 million Android users in Italy.

According to the statement, the fine was imposed on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, which contested the jurisdiction of Italy.

Authorities said Meta's "lack of cooperation" with the investigation affected the fine, which represents approximately 0.47% of the group's global turnover.