Italy fines Meta $887M for accessing users’ photos without specific consent

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Italy announced Saturday it is handing Meta an $887 million fine for using photos and videos from Android users’ Facebook galleries without specific consent. Investigators found Facebook had enabled a “get suggestions from gallery when browsing” feature by default and requested access to users’ personal photo library through a single permission notice, according to a release from the Italian Data Protection Authority naming Meta’s Irish subsidiary. The agency said the “generic” nature of the authorization notice violated an Italian law that protects smartphones as part of a person’s private sphere and requires “free and informed consent” for access. The law stems from the European Union’s broader “ePrivacy Directive.” It gave Meta 60 days to make the feature “turned off by default” and adjust the consent notice to include “a separate and specific request for the feature and clearly explain to users what it is for, that it involves access to the gallery, and how to disable it.” The fine comes as Meta faces multiple legal battles in the U. S. regarding children’s use of its social media platforms, many alleging its sites are unsafe for young users due to addictive qualities. In August, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey faced Meta in a high-profile trial as part of a coalition of 29 states suing the company for allegedly designing features to keep minors hooked on social media and deceiving parents about the safety of the platforms. Later that month, the states reached a $17 billion settlement with the tech giant. That same month, Meta separately awarded Texas an over $1 billion payout over similar allegations, bringing the tech giant’s total payment sum to around $18 billion. Following the “blue wave” that swept the nation on Nov. 3, with Democrats securing stunning victories in the midterms, AI safety advocates are hopeful the new Congress will support stricter tech industry regulation. With several incoming lawmakers having a record of supporting AI guardrails, such as Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) as well as Rep.-elects Manny Rutinel (Colo.), Micah Lasher (N. Y.) and others, the emerging technology will likely come under the microscope of both Democrat-run chambers. The Hill has reached out to Meta for comment on Italy’s fine. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.