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DATA PROTECTION

More trouble for Meta as it’s hit with a fine for EU data breach

By our News Team | 2022

Latest penalty means that embattled Meta has been fined around US$1-billion by the European Union since September last year.

The last quarter of 2022 is not a good time for the world’s social media giants. Following on from the chaos at Twitter and Meta’s announcement of thousands of employee layoffs, comes news that Meta has now been fined US$275-million by the national data watchdog in Ireland.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company – owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – must pay up after a breach last year resulted in the details of more than 500-million users being published online.

Data Protection

Photo by Pixabay via Pexels

According to the Data Protection Commission (DPC), which is responsible for regulating Meta in the European Union, Meta infringed two articles of the EU’s data protection laws when details of Facebook users from various countries were scraped from public profiles in 2018 and 2019. These details then appeared on a hacking website.

Meta must also take remedial actions

As many affected people were from the EU, the DPC then stepped in to investigate and decided to impose the fine. In addition, the DPC also imposed a reprimand and an order requiring Meta to “bring its processing into compliance by taking a range of specified remedial actions within a particular timeframe”.

The London-based Guardian newspaper is reporting that the latest punishment brings the total amount of fines imposed on Meta by the DPC to nearly $1,04-billion since late last year. 

“In September, Meta was fined €405m ($419-million) for letting teenagers set up Instagram accounts that publicly displayed their phone numbers and email addresses, while in March the watchdog fined Meta €17m ($17,6-million) for further General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR breaches), and in September last year it fined Meta’s WhatsApp €225m ($233-million) over ‘severe’ and ‘serious’ infringements of GDPR,” the newspaper said.

In a statement, Meta said: “We made changes to our systems during the time in question, including removing the ability to scrape our features in this way using phone numbers. Unauthorised data scraping is unacceptable and against our rules.”

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    Dr Kin Kariisa

    Group CEO - Next Media

    Dr. Kin Kariisa is an extraordinary force at the helm of Next Media Services, a conglomerate encompassing NBS TV, Nile Post, Sanyuka TV, Next Radio, Salam TV, Next Communication, Next Productions, and an array of other influential enterprises. His dynamic role as Chief Executive Officer exemplifies his unwavering commitment to shaping media, business, and community landscapes.
    With an esteemed academic journey, Dr. Kariisa’s accolades include an Honorary PhD in exemplary community service from the United Graduate College inTexas, an MBA from United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Huazong University in China, and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Makerere University.
    Dr. Kariisa pursued PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. As a dynamic educator, he has shared his expertise as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at both Makerere University and Radboud University.

    Dr Kin did his PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radbond University in Nigmegen, Netherlands. He previously served as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Radbond University in Netherlands.

    Dr Kin did his postgraduate courses in Strategic Business Management, Strategic Leadership Communication and Strategies for Leading Successful Change Initiatives at Harvard University, Boston USA.

    • Other current and previous roles played by Dr Kin Kariisa:
    • Lecturer of e-Government and Information Security to graduate students at Makerere University, Kampala and Radbond University in the Netherlands
    • Director of Eco Bank Uganda Limited, one of the largest banks in Africa
    • Chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters, an umbrella industry association for all Television, Radio and online broadcasters in Uganda.
    • Chairman of Board of Directors of Nile Hotel International, that owns the leading hotel in Uganda, Kampala Serena Hotel.
    • Chairman of Board of Directors of Soliton Telmec Uganda, the leading telecom company in Optic fibre business managing over 80% of optic fibre in Uganda.