OMM Newsroom
Italy’s data protection authority has fined Meta Platforms 805 million euros ($887 million) for accessing Android users’ photos and videos without their consent or informing them. The authority announced the decision on Saturday, AnewZ reported.
The authority said Meta accessed photos and videos through a Facebook app feature that suggests content from users’ personal galleries for sharing.
The authority gave the company 60 days to disable the feature by default and obtain users’ separate consent.
A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagreed with the authority’s decision, described the fine as “disproportionate” and said it would appeal.
“This is a simple feature that helps people share their photos and videos on Facebook. Users must grant permission on their devices for the feature to work, and they can change that permission at any time in their settings,” the spokesperson said.
The investigation, launched in 2025, did not examine the possible use of the content to train artificial intelligence models. The authority said Meta had denied such use.
The authority also said it reserved the right to separately assess a new feature introduced in 2026 that allows content from users’ galleries to be processed in the cloud.
The fine is equivalent to about 0.47% of Meta group’s global revenue. The authority said the feature affected about 20 million Android users in Italy.
