Italy fines Meta 805 million euros over Facebook gallery access
Italy's Garante della Privacy fined Meta's Ireland-based company 805 million euros after the Facebook app accessed Android users' gallery photos and videos without specific permission. The regulator also ordered Facebook to disable the gallery suggestions feature, introduced in 2023, within 60 days.
The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante della Privacy) has fined Meta's Ireland-based company 805 million euros. The fine was issued because the Facebook app accessed photos, videos, and related data in Android users' galleries without specific permission.
'WILL BE DISABLED FOR 60 DAYS'
In a written statement, the authority stated that users were not adequately informed about this access. Alongside the decision, it ordered the feature, which does not require permission, to be disabled within 60 days.
The system at the center of the violation is the "Get gallery suggestions while browsing Facebook" feature, which has been available since 2023. The investigation into this feature was launched following a complaint filed by the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center in July 2025.
20 MILLION USERS
In determining the fine amount, the authority took into account the presence of approximately 20 million Android users in Italy, the duration of the violation, a previous measure taken against the company in 2019, and a lack of cooperation during the investigation.
According to the statement, the 805 million euro fine is equivalent to approximately 0.47 percent of the group's worldwide turnover.
This article was translated from Turkish. Read the original article in Turkish.
