The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arrived in Europe in 2016 and began to be implemented in 2018. To date, it has been able to impose fines totaling €272.5 million.
But it had never fined a single company for such high amounts as it did last May 2023 for 1.2 billion euros to the Meta company (formerly Facebook) according to the newspaper El País , announced by the Irish Data Commission.
This is not the first fine imposed on Mark Zuckerberg's company; it is the third fine imposed by the EU in 2023 so far this year.
In January, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined the group €405 million for violations involving the use of personal data for advertising purposes on its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp apps. In March, it also received a €5.5 million fine for violating data protection regulations with its WhatsApp messaging service.
Although Meta had committed to changing its terms of use in Europe so it could continue collecting and processing the personal data of its European users, it has stated in this latest sanction that it will appeal the decision, considering it "unjustified and unnecessary," and will seek legal action to suspend it.
The European regulatory body has given Meta a five-month deadline to comply with its request not to send European user data to the United States, as it puts the privacy of its citizens at risk.
Companies with the largest fines imposed under the GDPR
The Meta Platforms group isn't the only American giant to receive fines in Europe, although it is one of the most frequently fined. Amazon was fined €746 million for non-compliance with the GDPR in 2021, and Google was fined €90 million for the same reason in the same year.
According to Enforcement Tracker , the 10 companies with the highest GDPR non-compliance penalties were:
- Meta Platforms for Ireland €1.2 billion
- Amazon Europe Core for Luxembourg €746 million
- Meta Platforms for Ireland €405 million
- Meta Platforms for Ireland €390 million
- Meta Platforms for Ireland €265 million
- WhatsApp for Ireland 225 million euros
- Google for France 90 million euros
- Facebook for France 60 million euros
- Google for France 60 million euros
- Google for France 50 million euros
The central reason for the debate behind these massive fines is the transfer of European citizens' data to the United States. The rules are unclear, and there are no political agreements between the European Union and the United States yet.