Italy Fines Meta €3.5 Million Over User Data Practices

Italy's competition watchdog announced on Wednesday that it had imposed a €3.5 million fine on tech giant Meta over inadequate information provided to users of its social networks Instagram and Facebook regarding unfair business practices.

In a statement, the Competition and Market Authority criticized Meta, stating that during the registration process on Instagram, users did not receive clear information about the collection and use of their data for commercial purposes.

Additionally, when suspending Facebook and Instagram accounts, no useful information was provided regarding the complaints users could file.

The authority also condemned Meta for failing to provide clarification on the reasons behind suspending Facebook accounts—whether through automated or manual review of content—nor did it inform users of Facebook and Instagram about ways to appeal these suspension actions.

Due to these unfair business practices, which Meta has since discontinued following Italian enforcement actions, the Competition Authority imposed a €3.5 million fine on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and its American parent company, Meta Platforms Inc.

In response to the Italian authority's decision, Meta expressed its disagreement, stating that since August 2023, it has made several changes directed at Italian users to address concerns raised by the Competition Authority, adding that it is considering its legal options.

Meta is facing scrutiny from the European Commission for violating rules requiring user consent before merging personal data collected across its various services for advertising profiling purposes.

In compliance with these rules, Meta introduced a paid subscription for Facebook and Instagram users, allowing them to opt out of targeted advertising. However, privacy advocates consider this practice unfair and a violation of consumer rights.

In April, the European Data Protection Board, the EU's regulatory body in this area, ordered major platforms to provide a free equivalent alternative option, without targeted ads, for example, with ads based on low-volume or non-personal data processing.