A court in Australia ordered Facebook owner Meta to pay a total of A$20 million ($14 million) in fines for secretly gathering user data through a smartphone software that was marketed as a privacy protector.
The decision on Wednesday concerned Onavo, a virtual private network service that the business, then known as Facebook, provided from early 2016 until late 2017. Onavo was promoted as a way to protect user information. By assigning a separate online address to their computer, VPNs mask an internet user’s identity.
However, the judge Wendy Abraham stated in a written judgement that Facebook utilised Onavo to gather users’ location, time, and frequency utilising other smartphone apps, as well as websites they frequented.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, who filed the civil complaint, was also ordered by Australia’s Federal Court to pay A$400,000 in legal fees to Meta, through its subsidiaries Facebook Israel and the now-discontinued app Onavo.
Since a global crisis broke out over its use of data analytics company Cambridge Analytica in the 2016 U.S. election, Meta has faced legal issues in Australia relating to its treatment of user information.
The Australian Office of the Information Commissioner is still pursuing a legal lawsuit against Meta for its interactions with Cambridge Analytica in Australia.
“over the last several years we have built tools to give people more transparency and control over how their data is used” Meta said in a statement, claiming that the ACCC has admitted it never tried to mislead customers.
