Meta Hit With Record €2.5 Billion Fine Over Data Transfer Violations in EU

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has imposed a record €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) fine on Meta (formerly Facebook) for continuing to transfer data beyond a 2020 EU court ruling that invalidated an EU-U.S. data transfer pact. This fine surpasses the previous record EU privacy fine of €746 million imposed on Amazon by Luxembourg in 2021. 

Meta plans to appeal the ruling, stating that the fine sets a dangerous precedent. The battle over where Meta stores its data began a decade ago, initiated by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems. 

Meta anticipates a new data protection framework facilitating safe data transfers to the U.S. will be implemented before it has to suspend transfers, avoiding the need to suspend Facebook services in Europe.