Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante, has fined Meta €805m ($887m) over allegations that its Facebook app accessed photos, videos and related metadata on Italian users’ Android devices without obtaining specific consent or providing adequate information.
The ruling concerns a gallery suggestions feature introduced in 2023, according to Reuters.
The feature recommends photos and videos stored on users’ phones as potential content for Facebook posts while they browse the platform.
The regulator found that Facebook sought access to users’ phone galleries through a single permission covering the entire app. The request followed a vague prompt encouraging users to activate additional features, without clearly explaining that doing so would also enable gallery suggestions.
Although Meta’s European Union headquarters is in Ireland, where the data protection regulator typically takes the lead under the General Data Protection Regulation, the Italian authority issued the fine.
Meta argued that the case fell under the jurisdiction of Ireland’s data protection authority, but the Garante rejected the position, noting that its action was based on ePrivacy rules, which do not provide for a one-stop-shop mechanism.
The regulator relied on Article 122 of Italy’s Privacy Code, which recognises smartphones as part of an individual’s private sphere and requires free and informed consent before accessing information stored on a device.
The provision applies even where the data remains on the phone and no harm is established.
According to the Garante, approximately 20 million Android users in Italy were affected by the practice.
In determining the penalty, the regulator considered a previous 2019 ruling against Meta and what it described as the company’s limited cooperation during the investigation.
However, changes introduced by Meta following the complaint were considered mitigating factors.
The Garante nevertheless described the measures as late and limited in scope, noting that they only benefited users who updated their Facebook applications.
