Italy’s data protection authority fined Meta Platforms $887 million on Saturday for accessing Android users' photos and videos without consent. The agency said a Facebook feature used private gallery content. Meta must disable this feature by default within 60 days and get separate user permission for any future data access.
Italy's data protection authority has slapped Meta Platforms with a staggering €805 million fine, following the unauthorized access of users' media. The issue arose from a Facebook app feature that exploited content from users' private galleries. Meta must disable this feature by default in 60 days and obtain separate user consent.
Italy's data protection agency said on Saturday it had fined Meta Platforms €805 million ($887 million) after finding the company had accessed Android users' photographs and videos without obtaining their consent or informing them.
Meta had access to Android users' photos and videos through a Facebook app feature that suggested content from users' personal galleries that they could post, the authority said in a statement
Meta has 60 days to disable the feature by default and seek users' consent separately, it added
Meta was not immediately available for comment
The investigation, which began in 2025, did not cover the possible use of the content to train artificial intelligence models, a practice Meta denied, the authority said
It added that it reserved the right to assess separately a new feature, launched in 2026, that allows content from users' galleries to be processed in the cloud
The fine is equivalent to about 0.47% of the group's global revenue, the authority said