Italy fines Meta US$900 million over Facebook's access to users' photo galleries
The Italian Data Protection Authority said the violation involved Facebook's "Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook" feature
LONDON - Italy's data protection authority has fined Meta €805 million (US$900 million) for accessing photos, videos and related metadata stored on Italian users' Android devices without obtaining specific and informed consent, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
The Italian Data Protection Authority said the violation involved Facebook's "Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook" feature, introduced in 2023, which suggests photos and videos stored on users' smartphones for sharing on the platform.
The investigation found that Facebook requested a single permission covering multiple functions, preceded by a generic warning that failed to inform users clearly that their photo galleries could also be accessed.
The authority also found that the feature was enabled by default, potentially allowing the app to access users' entire photo archives once permission was granted.
The investigation was launched in July 2025 following a complaint by the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center and included a technical analysis of the app.
The regulator said the practice violated Article 122 of Italy's Privacy Code, which implements the EU's ePrivacy Directive and protects information stored on users' devices.
It stressed that accessing information on smartphones requires free and informed consent, regardless of whether personal data is subsequently transmitted or harm is demonstrated.
The authority also rejected Meta's jurisdictional objection, saying ePrivacy legislation does not provide for the EU's "one-stop-shop" mechanism.
Under the ruling, Meta must introduce a separate consent request, clearly explain the feature's purpose and keep it disabled by default within 60 days, including for users who previously granted permission.
The company must report initial measures within 30 days and provide details of implemented measures within 90 days.
The authority said approximately 20 million Android users in Italy could have been affected, citing the scale and duration of the violation, a previous action against Meta in 2019 and the company's lack of cooperation.
The proceedings did not examine the use of gallery content for AI training. The authority reserved the right to investigate separately a cloud-based gallery processing feature launched in 2026. - BERNAMA
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