Norway’s data protection authority says Meta will face daily fines of 1 million krone ($98,500) from August 14th due to privacy violations. The regulatory body Datatilsynet says that unless the Facebook company rectifies the privacy breaches highlighted by the regulator, it would incur fines.
Datatilsynet had initially stated that Meta is prohibited from collecting user data in Norway, including physical locations, for use in personalised advertising known as behavioural advertising. This practice is common among big tech companies. Meta had until August 4th to prove to Norway’s regulatory body that it had addressed the issue but has failed to do so.
Tobias Judin, head of Datatilsynet’s international section told Reuters, “As of next Monday, a daily fine of 1 million krone will start to apply.” A decision that might potentially carry wider consequences throughout Europe.
Privacy breach
The fine will run until November 3rd. Datatilsynet can make it permanent by bringing its decision to the European Data Protection Board. If the board agrees with Norway’s decision, it can make Meta’s fines permanent.
Meta previously said it plans to seek consent from European Union users before permitting businesses to target advertising strategies that are based on a user’s interactions on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
However, Judin said that process alone wouldn’t be enough and says Meta needs to stop processing the personal data of users immediately and maintain this cessation until the consent mechanism is fully operational.
“According to Meta, this will take several months, at the very earliest, for them to implement… And we don’t know what the consent mechanism will look like,” Judin said. “And in the (meantime), peoples’ rights are being violated, every single day.”
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
