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

FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands watch by the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View, California, U.S. November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Peter DaSilva

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Meta was hit on Monday with a record 1.2 billion euro ($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 and topped the previous 746 million euro record EU privacy fine by Luxembourg on Amazon.com Inc in 2021, according to a DPC statement.