Data

Data Protection Commission and Meta emerge bruised from EU privacy punch-up

The Irish regulator fined Instagram and Facebook a combined €390 million for breaches of the GDPR in its use of personal data for advertising – but only after it was effectively forced to by other European data agencies

Facebook was fined €210 million for its data processing practices this week, while Instagram was penalised to the tune of €180 million. Picture: Getty

It’s hard to know who emerged more bruised from last week’s major ruling that Meta had breached EU law in its data collection methods – the company hit with the €390 million fine, or the Irish agency which issued it.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) on Wednesday confirmed that Meta’s Facebook platform would be fined €210 million for breaching EU data protection laws, while Instagram would be penalised to the tune of €180 million for ...