Italy Fines Meta €805M Over Facebook Android Photo Access

Italy's Garante fined Meta €805 million ($887 million) over a Facebook Android feature that accessed photos, videos and metadata on roughly 20 million Italian users' phones without specific consent, Al Jazeera reported. The regulator said the feature, called "Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook," was enabled by default and relied on a generic consent flow that failed to explain what access it granted, violating Italian law implementing the EU's ePrivacy directive.

The fine was issued against Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, which had challenged Italy's jurisdiction. The Garante cited Meta's "lack of cooperation" during the investigation and pointed back to a 2019 sanction against the company as an aggravating factor. The penalty represents about 0.47% of Meta's global turnover and is the largest ever imposed by the Italian regulator.

Meta has 60 days to disable the default feature and obtain separate consent for its use, and retains the right to appeal. The proceedings did not address Meta's use of user content for AI training.