Meta [123RF]
Meta [123RF]

Italy's data protection authority fined Meta on Saturday (local time) for accessing users' photos and other personal data without prior consent.

The Italian watchdog said Meta Platforms had accessed photos and videos belonging to Android users without authorization and imposed a fine of 805 million euros ($890 million), according to Reuters.

Authorities said Meta accessed content stored in users' personal photo libraries through a feature that recommends posts suitable for sharing on Facebook.

Allegations that the feature was also used to train AI models were raised but fell outside the scope of the current investigation. Meta denied the allegations.

The authority said the fine represents 0.47 percent of Meta Group's global sales.


husn7@heraldcorp.com