Facebook parent Meta was hit with a record A$1.9 billion privacy fine, with orders to “suspend any future transfer of personal data” from the EU to the US.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission imposed the record fine, saying the continued transfer of personal information from the EU to the US breaches “the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms” of those users.
Meta has five months to “suspend any future transfer of personal data to the US” and a further month to stop “the unlawful processing, including storage, in the US” of personal EU data.
Facebook says it will appeal the ruling, “including the unjustified and unnecessary fine, and seek a stay of the orders through the courts”, noting there is “no immediate disruption” to Facebook in Europe.
“Thousands of businesses and other organisations rely on the ability to transfer data between the EU and the US in order to operate and provide services that people use every day,” Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs, and Jennifer Newstead, Chief Legal Officer, wrote in a response to the ruling.
“Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos, restricting the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on.
“That’s why providing a sound legal basis for the transfer of data between the EU and the US has been a political priority on both sides of the Atlantic for many years.”
Clegg and Newstead also point out that Meta has “been singled out when using the same legal mechanism as thousands of other companies looking to provide services in Europe”, calling the decision “flawed” and “unjustified”, and noting it “sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and US.”