London, UK: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, faces a hefty fine of $1.3 billion for its mishandling of user data during transfers between Europe and the United States. The substantial penalty highlights the consequences of privacy breaches and underscores the ongoing scrutiny faced by tech giants regarding data protection and international data transfers.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission imposes record-breaking fine on Meta for data mishandling, marking the largest penalty under EU’s privacy law. GDPR mandates companies to obtain individuals’ consent prior to utilizing their personal data.
Meta vows to challenge the unjustified and unnecessary ruling, announcing its intention to appeal. The central issue of this decision revolves around the utilization of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for the transatlantic transfer of EU data.
These legally binding agreements, formulated by the European Commission, include provisions aimed at upholding the protection of personal data when it is transferred outside of Europe.
However, apprehensions persist regarding the potential exposure of Europeans to weaker privacy regulations in the US and the possibility of US intelligence accessing the transferred data.
Many major corporations maintain intricate networks of data transfers, encompassing various types of personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and financial data, which are sent to recipients overseas. A significant number of these data transfers rely on the utilization of standard contractual clauses (SCCs).