Ireland · Privacy · 22 May 2023

Meta fined a record €1.2bn for sending Facebook users' data to the US

€1.2 billion fine, plus orders to suspend transfers and bring past processing into line

Company: Meta
Regulator or court: Irish Data Protection Commission
Law: GDPR, Article 46(1) (international transfers)
Status: Under appeal (Meta is challenging the decision in the Irish courts)

What happened

After the EU's top court struck down the EU-US Privacy Shield in 2020, Meta kept moving Facebook users' data to the US using standard contract clauses. The DPC, directed by the European Data Protection Board, found those contracts did not deal with the risk of US government surveillance. It remains the largest GDPR fine ever imposed.

Sources

Irish DPC press release Business Post on the appeal

Summary in our own words. General information, not legal advice.

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