Rome, The Europe Today: Italy has fined Meta Platforms €805 million. The Italian data protection authority says the company accessed Android users’ photos and videos without their consent and without telling them properly. This is one of the largest privacy penalties ever imposed on a technology company in Europe.
The authority said a feature in the Facebook app gave Meta access to users’ private galleries. The feature suggested photos and videos from a user’s phone that they could post on the platform. According to the regulator’s statement, users were neither asked for their consent nor properly informed that Meta could see their personal media in this way.
Meta Given 60 Days to Change the Feature
As well as the fine, the authority has given Meta 60 days to switch the feature off by default. Meta must also ask users for their consent separately before it can access their galleries. Users will then decide for themselves whether the app can suggest content from their personal photos and videos.
Meta was not immediately available for comment.
Why Italy Fined Meta
The investigation began in 2025. It looked at how the Facebook app on Android devices accessed and processed users’ personal media. The regulator said the investigation did not cover whether the content may have been used to train artificial intelligence models. Meta has denied doing so.
The authority also said it reserves the right to assess separately a new feature Meta launched in 2026. That feature lets content from users’ galleries be processed in the cloud. This means Meta could face more scrutiny in Italy over how it handles users’ private media.
A Penalty Linked to Global Revenue
The regulator said the €805 million fine equals about 0.47 percent of the Meta group’s global revenue. Under Europe’s data protection framework, penalties are calculated in proportion to a company’s worldwide turnover. This lets regulators impose fines that matter even to the largest technology firms.
Growing Pressure on Big Tech Over Privacy
The decision adds to regulatory pressure on Meta, which faces privacy and transparency challenges in several countries. The fine also shows that European authorities are watching closely how technology companies collect and use personal data, especially private content stored on users’ devices.
For millions of Android users, the ruling is a reminder to check app permissions and privacy settings. If Meta complies, Facebook users in Italy will have to agree explicitly before the app can browse their photo galleries for suggested content.
