Italy’s data protection authority has imposed a fine of €805m ($887m) on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for accessing users’ photos and videos without obtaining specific consent. The penalty marks one of the largest fines ever levied by an Italian regulator against a technology giant.
The investigation focused on the Facebook application for Android devices. Regulators determined that the company accessed photographs, videos, and related metadata belonging to Italian users without properly informing them or securing explicit permission for this specific data use.
Gallery Suggestions Feature Under Scrutiny
The penalty relates specifically to a feature called gallery suggestions, which has been available since 2023. This function suggests photos and videos from a user’s phone gallery as potential content for posts while the user is browsing the app.
According to the Italian authority, Facebook requested access to the device gallery through a single authorization valid for the entire application. This request was preceded by a generic notice asking users to enable other features. The regulator found that this approach did not allow users to understand that they were also authorizing access to their photo gallery for the suggestions feature.
The authority stated that Meta must now seek consent through a separate and specific request for the feature. The company must clearly explain that the feature involves access to the user’s photo gallery and provide clear instructions on how to disable it.
Scale of the Violation and Meta’s Response
Regulators cited the high number of people affected as a key factor in determining the size of the fine. Approximately 20 million Android users in Italy were impacted by the infringement. The authority also noted that the violation is ongoing for those who have not updated the app and for those who have already given their consent to the system.
Additionally, the regulator pointed to Meta’s lack of cooperation during the investigation as a contributing factor to the penalty. The fine amounts to roughly 0.4% of Meta’s annual turnover, which reached $201bn in 2025, with a net profit of $60.5bn.
Meta has stated that it plans to appeal the decision. A company spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the assessment by the regulators and described the fine as disproportionate.
This ruling follows other significant regulatory actions against the company. In late October, authorities in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $25bn for misleading state residents about data use over more than a decade. That record fine was criticized by Meta as a tax on freedom of expression.
The Italian penalty is comparable to other major fines in the region. In 2021, Amazon received a fine of more than €1.1bn for breaching competition law.
Source: The Guardian
