Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access


FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta Platforms is seen during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

MILAN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - ⁠Italy's data protection agency said on ⁠Saturday it had fined Meta Platforms €805 million ($887 ‌million) after finding the company had accessed Android users' photographs and videos without obtaining their consent or informing ​them.

• Meta had access to ⁠Android users' photos ⁠and videos through a Facebook app feature that ⁠suggested content ‌from users' personal galleries that they could post, the authority said ⁠in a statement

• Meta has 60 days ​to disable ‌the feature by default and seek users' ⁠consent separately, ​it added

• Meta was not immediately available for comment

• The investigation, which began in 2025, ⁠did not cover the possible ​use of the content to train artificial intelligence models, a practice Meta denied, the authority said

• ⁠It added that it reserved the right to assess separately a new feature, launched in 2026, that allows content from users' galleries ​to be processed in ⁠the cloud

• The fine is equivalent to about ​0.47% of the group's global ‌revenue, the authority said

($1 = ​0.9074 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, writing by Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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