Norway’s data regulator fines Meta nearly $99K per day over privacy breaches
Datatilsynet said Meta cannot harvest Norwegian users' data for ad targeting
Norway’s data regulator is fining Meta the equivalent of $98,500 per day over alleged privacy breaches.
The data protection authority, Datatilsynet, said in mid-July it was temporarily imposing a ban on Meta for carrying out behavioral advertising based on the surveillance and profiling of users in Norway.
The ban, Datatilsynet said at the time, will apply from August 4 and last for three months, or until Meta shows it can comply with the law. Should Meta not comply with the decision, the agency warned, the company risks a fine of up to one million Norwegian Krone per day.
Tobias Judin, head of the agency’s international department, told FOX Business that Meta's behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram entails "intrusive surveillance of its users and filtering of what information they can see – negatively impacting their right to data protection and freedom of information."
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FILE: The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus / AP Newsroom)
"There are many vulnerable people on these platforms, such as young people, the elderly and people with cognitive disabilities who need particular protection," Judin said. "We are concerned that sensitive personal data may be used for advertising purposes. We have therefore found that Meta's practices are contrary to data protection law."
Datatilsynet can make the fine permanent by referring its decision to the European Data Protection Board if it agrees with the Norwegian regulator's decision. The potential move could also widen the decision's territorial scope to the rest of Europe.
Meta last week said it intends to ask users in the European Union for their consent before allowing businesses to target advertising based on their viewing habits.
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But that step was not enough for Datatilsynet. Judin said Meta had to stop the processing of personal data immediately, and until that consent mechanism was up and running.
FILE: A logo at the Meta Platforms Inc. area on the opening day of the MWC Barcelona at the Fira de Barcelona venue in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"According to Meta, this will take several months, at the very earliest, for them to implement... And we don't know what the consent mechanism will look like," Judin told Reuters. "And in the (meantime), peoples' rights are being violated, every single day."
Meta said the change was made to address regulatory requirements in the region and stems from an order in January by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, Meta's lead EU regulator, to reassess the legal basis for how it targets ads.
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FOX Business has reached out to Meta for further comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.