The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) imposed, on Wednesday 4 January, two fines on the Meta group totalling €390 million. In detail, the first fine, amounting to €210 million, concerns the company Facebook. The second, for €180 million, concerns the company Instagram.
The two fines were issued because, according to the DPC, the Meta Group had violated transparency obligations and had used the wrong legal basis for its processing of personal data for the purpose of targeted advertising.
These two sanctions come after the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted, on 6 December, three binding decisions (see EUROPE 13078/34) concerning Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. The decision on the latter company will be the subject of a separate decision, expected in the coming days.
It is not only the Meta Group’s properties that are under scrutiny by the various regulatory authorities. On Wednesday 11 January, the German competition authority concluded that digital giant Google was able to collect and process data from its services and third-party providers without users’ consent. The competent German authority has thus ordered Google to change its operating code. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)