In 2019, hackers accessed the data of more than 530 million Facebook users. The Irish Data Protection Commission is investigating the case and has come to the conclusion that the company should have provided better protection. Parent company Meta is therefore asked to pay.
The Facebook parent company Meta has to pay a high fine of 265 million euros for violations of data protection in the EU. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) imposed the penalty after completing an "extensive investigation process" and in cooperation with all other data protection authorities in the EU, as it announced. It's about the data of half a billion Facebook users that had been published on a hacker website.
Meta has its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, along with tech giants Google and Apple. Therefore, the local DPC is the responsible authority for data protection issues. The DPC launched its investigation into Facebook in April 2021. Previously, in 2019, data from more than 530 million users had been tapped and published on a hacker forum. The hackers used a tool to make it easier to search for new friends via contact lists.
The authority investigated whether Meta adequately protected the data of its users and has now found that the group has violated two articles of the European General Data Protection Regulation. Adaptation measures were also imposed on the Facebook parent in order to adequately protect the data of its users in the future.
Meta explained the decision, which was made on Friday, that data protection was "essential" for the company. The group has therefore fully cooperated and has already made "changes to our systems". The Meta share lost 0.91 percent on the stock exchange and stood at a good 110 dollars.
Meta has repeatedly been fined for privacy violations. In September, the Instagram service received a record fine of 405 million euros for violations of European data protection law. It was about the handling of data of minors in the picture service.
