Facebook parent company Meta has been slammed with a record $1.3 billion fine for violating European Union data privacy rules.
The Data Protection Commission of Ireland announced the fine Monday, stating that Meta violated protection rules when it continued to transfer personal data from the E.U. to the U.S., which was in violation of data protection regulation Article 46(1).
The DPC also said that all such data transfers should be suspended.
The conclusion by the DPC stems from a judgment that came down from Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland Limited and Maximillian Schrems, that concluded data transferred from the EU to the U.S. might be accessed by the U.S. government in a way that did not comply with EU law.
Meta responded to the DPC’s decision, saying it will appeal the ruling, including the "unjustified and unnecessary fine." The social media giant said it will seek a stay of the orders through the courts, who can pause the implementation deadlines.
"The ability for data to be transferred across borders is fundamental to how the global open internet works. From finance and telecommunications to critical public services like healthcare or education, the free flow of data supports many of the services that we have come to rely on," Meta said in a statement.
"Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos, restricting the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on," the company continued.
Meta said Facebook users will not face any immediate disruption as implementation periods from the decision don’t run until later this year.
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