Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined Meta with a 265 million-euro ($277 million) fine on Monday, the company’s latest punishment for breaching strict European Union data privacy rules.
The regulator said Meta Platforms infringed sections of the EU rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, that require technical and organisational measures aimed at protecting user data, reports AP.
It opened an investigation last year into news reports that data on more 533 million users was found dumped online. The data was found on a website for hackers and included names, Facebook IDs, phone numbers, locations, birthdates and email addresses for people from more than 100 countries.
However, Meta said the data had been “scraped” from Facebook using tools designed to help people find their friends through phone numbers using search and contact import features.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
