Home / Technology / Italy Slams Meta with $887M Fine Over User Photos
Italy Slams Meta with $887M Fine Over User Photos
15 Nov
Summary
- Meta fined $887 million for accessing Android users' photos.
- Meta's Facebook app accessed gallery content without consent.
- Company must obtain explicit consent for photo access feature.
Italy's data protection agency has levied an $887 million fine against Meta Platforms. The agency determined that Meta's Facebook application accessed Android users' photographs and videos without first securing their consent or providing adequate notification.
The feature in question allowed Meta to suggest content from users' personal galleries for potential posting. This action has resulted in a substantial penalty for the tech giant.
Meta is now required to implement changes within 60 days. This includes disabling the feature by default and obtaining explicit consent from users before accessing their gallery content. The investigation, which commenced in 2025, did not delve into the potential use of this content for training artificial intelligence models, a practice Meta has denied.
Additionally, the agency stated it reserves the right to conduct a separate assessment of a new feature introduced in 2026 that processes user gallery content in the cloud. The $887 million fine represents approximately 0.47% of Meta's global revenue.
