Italy Fines Meta $887 Million Over Unauthorized Data Access

Italy's data protection authority has imposed an 805 million euro fine, equivalent to 887 million dollars, against Meta. The sanction follows the discovery that the Facebook app accessed photos and videos from Android users without proper consent or notification.

The unauthorized access occurred through a feature that suggested content from personal galleries for posts on the social network. The company now has 60 days to disable this tool and begin requesting user permission on an individual basis.

The financial penalty represents approximately 0.47% of the company's global revenue. The investigation into the case began in 2025 and focused on the management of information stored on mobile devices.

Italian authorities clarified that the process did not include the use of data for training artificial intelligence models. However, the agency pointed to the possibility of evaluating a new feature launched in 2026 that processes content from user galleries directly in the cloud.

Regulatory rigor regarding data collection may increase operational costs for tech companies and force structural changes in the development of new artificial intelligence tools.