Italy regulator fines Meta 805 million euros ($880 million) over alleged photo privacy breaches

Italy’s data protection authority has fined Meta 805 million euros, or about $880 million, over allegations that the Facebook parent accessed users’ photos without obtaining their “specific” consent, according to a report citing the regulator.

The penalty, described as 805 million euros, was characterized in the same account as the result of an investigation into how Meta handled photo data. The regulator said users’ permission was not sufficiently specific for the use at issue.

The ruling comes as European privacy enforcement continues to focus on the details of consent requirements, particularly whether users are clearly informed and whether authorization is specific to the type of data access or processing involved.

For Meta, the issue touches a core part of its business model: managing and using user-generated content across its social platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Privacy regulators have previously scrutinized how platforms collect, store, and repurpose personal data, and the latest dispute underscores the legal risk tied to consent design and data access practices.

The reported fine also highlights the operational burden that privacy rules impose on large-scale technology services. Even when a platform has broad consent flows, regulators may still determine that a particular data action requires separate, explicit opt-in or other specific authorization.

Meta did not provide additional details in the account described in the report, and the post did not lay out the full factual record behind the regulator’s reasoning or any remediation steps tied to the penalty.