Meta hit by record 1.2 bln euro fine by EU over U.S. data transfers

Meta was hit with a record $1.3 billion fine by its lead privacy regulator in the European Union for its handling of user information and given five months to stop transferring users data to the United States.
The fine imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) concerned Meta’s continued transferring of personal data topped the previous 746 million euro record EU privacy fine by Luxembourg on Amazon.com Inc in 2021, according to a DPC statement on Monday.
Meta said in a statement that it will appeal the ruling, including the “unjustified and unnecessary fine”, and seek a stay of the orders through the courts.
The long-running battle over where Facebook stores its data began a decade ago after Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems brought a legal challenge over the risk of U.S. snooping in light of disclosures by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
Meta said last month it expected a new pact facilitating the safe transfer of EU citizens’ personal data to the United States would be fully implemented before it has to suspend transfers.
That would mean its previous warning that a stoppage could force it to suspend Facebook services in Europe would not come to pass.
The European Commission expects to finalise a data transfer pact with the United States by summer, a spokesman said on Monday after the Irish privacy regulator gave Meta Platforms META.O five months to stop transferring users’ data across the Atlantic.
“We expect this data protection framework between the EU and the U.S. to be fully functionable by the summer. This will guarantee stability and legal certainty,” a Commission spokesman told a daily news conference.
However, Meta cautioned that there is a chance it might not be ready in time.