Meta fined $1.3 billion by EU privacy regulators for transferring user data to US

Meta has been slapped with a massive fine of $1.3 billion by European Union (EU) privacy regulators. The Wall Street Journal reported that this penalty was imposed because Meta was transferring user data to the United States without adequately addressing the risks to people's fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Irish Data Protection Commission made the decision and gave Meta a five-month deadline to halt any future data transfers to the US and a six-month deadline to stop the unlawful processing and storage of EU data in the US.

Although it was widely anticipated that Meta would face a ban on data transfers, the impact has been softened by a transition phase outlined in the decision and the possibility of a new EU-US data flows agreement coming into effect by the middle of this year.

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This development is part of a long-standing issue that started when the EU's highest court invalidated an EU-US data transfer agreement in 2020 due to concerns about the safety of citizens' data on US servers. While an alternative method using contractual clauses was not invalidated, doubts about US data protection led to a preliminary order from the Irish authority, instructing Facebook to stop using this alternative method for data transfers to the US.

In December, EU regulators proposed a replacement for the defunct "Privacy Shield" agreement, following negotiations with the US. President Joe Biden issued an executive order and assured the EU that measures would be taken to protect the data of EU citizens during transfers to the US.

The fine imposed on Meta coincides with the fifth anniversary of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is considered the global standard for privacy protection. Since May 2018, EU regulators have had the power to impose fines of up to 4 per cent of a company's annual revenue for serious violations. The Irish Data Protection Commission has become the leading privacy regulator for major tech companies based in the EU, including Meta and Apple Inc

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