100.000 USD per day, Norway fines META: Takes personal information of users!
The Norwegian data protection agency Datatilsynet has decided to stop Meta, which owns the Facebook and Instagram platforms, from using users’ personal information for certain advertisements, threatening the social network giant with a daily fine of 100 thousand dollars if he continues this practice.
The business methods of major US tech firms are under intense scrutiny across Europe amid privacy concerns, resulting in hefty fines in recent years. Datatilsynet said Meta uses information such as users’ location, the content they like and their posts for advertising purposes.
“The Norwegian Data Protection Authority considers Meta’s practices illegal and is therefore placing a temporary ban on its advertising on Facebook and Instagram,” a statement from this agency underlined. The decision will take effect on August 4 and will last three months to give Meta time to take corrective measures.
The company will be fined $100,000 per day if it does not comply with the decision, which is not actually a ban on the Facebook and Instagram platforms operating in the country, nor a complete blocking of their ads. Austrian digital privacy watchdog Noyb, which has filed a series of complaints against Meta’s activities, hailed the decision “as an important first step” and added that it hopes data protection agencies in others will follow the example of the Norwegians.
