Facebook’s parent company Meta has been slapped with two sets of fines totalling €390 million as the Irish privacy regulator concluded that the company’s advertising and data handling practices were in breach of the EU privacy law
About Facebook Breaches EU Privacy Law
- The Irish Data Protection Commission said that Meta should be ordered to pay two fines — a €210 million fine over violations of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and a €180 million fine linked to breaches of the GDPR by Instagram.
- The Irish DPC said EU authorities had concluded that the legal permission that Meta sought from users to collect their data for personalised advertising as part of its lengthy terms-of-service agreement essentially forced them to accept personalised ads, in violation of the GDPR. It said that Meta has to bring its data processing operations “into compliance within three months”.
- The DPC ruling builds on a December statement by the European Data Protection Board — the body that oversees regulatory action on data privacy across the 27-nation bloc — that Meta was not entitled to simply rely on contracts as a legal basis for processing user data for targeted advertisements.
- The ruling come from the Irish regulator because as per the GDPR, cross-border cases are to be handled by the data-protection authority in the country where the company is based, with the result that the Irish DPC is the lead regulatory authority for Meta and a number of other US tech majors that have their headquarters in Ireland
Significance Of The Ruling
Impact Of The Ruling
EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- It is a law passed by the 28-member bloc in 2018. (now 27)
- The GDPR is the toughest privacy and security law in the world.
- Though it was drafted and passed by the European Union (EU), it imposes obligations onto organizations anywhere, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU.
- As per the GDPR, cross-border cases are to be handled by the data-protection authority in the country where the company is based.
- European Data Protection Board: The body that oversees regulatory action on data privacy across the 27-nation bloc.
- Facebook Inc. has changed its name and logo to Meta Platforms Inc. on October 28, 2021.
- Facebook Inc. has been renamed to Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta to reflect its commitment to develop the new surround-yourself technology called as “metaverse.”
- However, the social network will still be called as Facebook.
- Rebranding of the company is part of its big plan to develop a virtual world and to bring the “apps and technologies of company under one new company brand”.
- Ever since Facebook was launched in 2004, it has purchased social media apps like Instagram and WhatsApp.
- It has also invested in technologies like video-calling device Portal, virtual reality system Oculus and digital wallet Novi.
- The metaverse is sort of internet brought to life and are rendered in 3D. it is a “virtual environment” wherein people can go inside, instead of just looking at on the screen. Through this platform, people can meet, play and work using virtual reality headsets, smartphone apps and augmented reality glasses.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The full form of GDPR is General Data Protection Regulation
Meta changed its name from facebook in 2021
Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality
