Facebook (now known as Meta) has been fined 405 million euros ($402 million) by the Irish Data Protection Commission for handling children’s privacy settings on Instagram.
small tools Report The Facebook has been fined 405 million euros ($402 million) by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) for handling children’s privacy settings on Instagram, which it said violated Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is the second-largest fine the regulator has levied on Facebook.
Teens browse social media (Nicholas Kamm/Getty)
Mark Zuckerberg is surrounded by guards (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
A spokesman for the DPC confirmed the fine had been issued and said more details on the situation would be provided next week. The fines relate to Instagram’s privacy settings on child-controlled accounts.
The DPC surveyed children using business accounts that produced personal data such as email addresses and phone numbers. The survey also looked at Instagram’s policy of automatically making all new accounts, including accounts created by teens, available for public viewing.
A Facebook spokesperson told politics In a statement:
This inquiry focuses on an old setting we updated a year ago, and since then we’ve released a number of new features to help keep teens safe and their information private.
Anyone under the age of 18 will automatically have their account set to private when they join Instagram, so only people they know can see what they post, and adults can’t message teens who don’t follow them. We were fully engaged with the DPC throughout their inquiries and we carefully reviewed their final decision.
Facebook can still file fines, but it doesn’t appear to have done so. The fine comes as Instagram faces intense scrutiny over its handling of child safety issues. Previously, the company shut down development of its Instagram Kids app, claiming it ignored research showing the app could negatively impact the mental health of teenage users.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News, covering issues of free speech and online censorship.Follow him on Twitter @lucasnolan
