Italy fines Meta US$887 million over Android users' data access

MILAN: Italy's data protection agency said on Saturday (Nov 14) it had fined Meta Platforms €805 million (US$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 said.

A Meta spokesperson said the company would appeal, strongly disagreeing with the authority's decision and calling the fine "disproportionate".

"This is a simple feature that helps people share photos and videos on Facebook. Users must grant permission on their device before the feature can operate, and they can change that permission at any time in their settings," the spokesperson said in a statement.

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.

The authority also said that it had 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 percent of the group's global revenue, the authority said.

Around 20 million Android users in Italy have been affected, it said.