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.

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.”

Group of people in formal attire posing together reaching toward a central trophy at an awards event on a white runway stage with a blue backdrop

From winning the bid to building something Africa will remember: ACCS 2027 in Addis Ababa

Ethiopian delegates celebrate the 2027 host announcement made in Zambia last week

Woman at a podium giving a talk avani sign backdrop with african marketing confederation logos large blue conference slide screen behind her

World Marketing Council takes its first steps on the global stage

First Vice President outlines vision to champion professional excellence, ethical practice and innovation in marketing worldwide.

Group of people at a celebration raising a trophy together on a stage ceremony

AMC confirms Ethiopia will be the host of the 2027 conference

Zambian organisers of the 2026 gathering officially hand over the baton to an ecstatic Ethiopian delegation. Rwanda to host in 2028.

Conference hall stage with a man in a blue suit speaking at a podium on a large screen ticon africa banner visible'shaping the future of ict in africa'

Landmark gathering gets underway with delegates from over 30 countries

Opening plenary hears that securing Africa’s economic future requires businesses to discover new customers and cross-border opportunities.

Pre-conference masterclass discusses taking African brands to the world

Participants challenged to identify, articulate and commercialise the cultural assets that make their brand ready for a global audience.

Three people stand side by side in front of a sports direct backdrop the woman in the middle holds a blue and orange 'sports direct' sign

Africa’s first Sports Direct retail store opens its doors in Nairobi

Second outlet planned for Nairobi before year end, with Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco said to be future target markets.

Person wearing a beige sweater holds a phone with a translucent search bar reading 'search' and microphonecamera icons in the foreground

Search is fragmenting – credibility and trust create the new visibility

Online search behaviour has changed significantly with the rise of AI. How can African brands adapt to this new marketing landscape?

Person shopping at a deli counter holding an orange shopping basket in a cheese section of a supermarket

The move toward future-ready food packaging where materials meet AI

Researchers propose a framework for packaging that senses, learns and acts – making packaging an active, AI-powered tool against food waste.

Conference stage with a woman in a patterned dress speaking to an audience large screens display '' logos and banners for a marketers conference with 'institute of marketing in malawi' branding on stage panels and backdrop

Malawi’s marketers urged to put trust at the heart of the profession

Country needs marketers to build recognition and consumer trust around Malawian products and national brand, says Deputy Minister.

Lingerie brand creates street-stopping advertising in Manhattan

Fashion brand suspends giant lingerie high above the city’s streets, using shadows to create a moving billboard for pedestrians and motorists.

We know AI influencers aren’t real – so why do we trust them?

Researchers describe AI influencers as having a ‘dual identity’. Consumers evaluate both ‘person’ and ‘technology’ identities at once.