Meta claims EU fine risks internet break-up

THE EU has been accused of putting the internet at risk of break-up after handing down a record fine to Facebook owner Meta.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), which polices Facebook’s data handling within the EU, yesterday fined Meta a record €1.2bn (£1bn) in a row over privacy.

The DPC ruled that transferring European users’ Facebook data to the United States created “risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms” of citizens in light of the widespread domestic spying uncovered by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Meta will also be forced to stop transferring Facebook users’ data to America within five months. It has been given six months to remove data from US servers.

Sir Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of global affairs, said the ruling meant the internet “risks being carved up into national and regional silos”. He added: “This decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and US.”

Meta said it would appeal against the decision and the fine, which is a record under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws. It said there would be “no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe”. The ruling does not affect Instagram or Whatsapp. The row comes amid a growing split between Britain and the EU over how to regulate tech giants.

Microsoft last month said Europe was a better place to do business after the EU approved the company’s takeover of Activision Blizzard, which has been blocked in Britain. Meta shifted UK users’ data out of the Irish regulator’s jurisdiction earlier this year, meaning the US entity handles users’ data.

The fine, which eclipses the record GDPR fine of €746m given to Amazon in 2021, is the culmination of a long campaign by privacy activists who argued that Facebook’s data transfers breached European laws.

Meta says being able to transfer users’ data to the US is critical to providing a global social network.