Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Instagram owner Meta fined €405m over handling of teens’ data

by September 6, 2022
September 6, 2022
Instagram owner Meta fined €405m over handling of teens’ data

Instagram owner Meta has been fined €405m (£349m) by the Irish data watchdog for letting teenagers set up accounts that publicly displayed their phone numbers and email addresses.

The Data Protection Commission confirmed the penalty after a two-year investigation into potential breaches of the European Union’s general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Instagram had allowed users aged between 13 and 17 to operate business accounts on the platform, which showed the users’ phone numbers and email addresses. The DPC also found the platform had operated a user registration system whereby the accounts of 13-to-17-year-old users were set to “public” by default.

The DPC regulates Meta – which is also the owner of Facebook and WhatsApp – on behalf of the entire EU because the company’s European headquarters are in Ireland.

The penalty is the highest imposed on Meta by the watchdog, after a €225m fine imposed in September 2021 for “severe” and “serious” infringements of GDPR at WhatsApp and a €17m fine in March this year.

The fine is the second largest under GDPR, behind the €746m levied on Amazon in July 2021.

A DPC spokesperson said: “We adopted our final decision last Friday and it does contain a fine of €405m. Full details of the decision will be published next week.”

Caroline Carruthers, a UK data consultancy owner, said Instagram had not thought through its privacy responsibilities when letting teenagers set up business accounts and had shown an “obvious lack of care” in users’ privacy settings.

“GDPR has special provisions to make sure any service which targets children are living up to a high standard of transparency. Instagram fell foul of this when accounts of children were set to open by default rather than private.”

Last year Meta suspended work on a version of Instagram for children following revelations about the app’s impact on teen mental health.

Instagram said it was “pausing” work to address concerns raised by parents, experts and regulators. The move followed revelations from a whistleblower, Frances Haugen, that Facebook’s own research showed Instagram could affect girls’ mental health on issues such as body image and self-esteem.

Instagram has said that prior to September 2019, it had put user contact details on business accounts and had informed users during the setup process. Under-18s now have their account set to private automatically when they join the platform.

Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at NSPCC, said: “This was a major breach that had significant safeguarding implications and the potential to cause real harm to children using Instagram.

“The ruling demonstrates how effective enforcement can protect children on social media and underlines how regulation is already making children safer online.”

A Meta spokesperson said: “This inquiry focused on old settings that we updated over a year ago, and we’ve since released many new features to help keep teens safe and their information private.

“Anyone under 18 automatically has their account set to private when they join Instagram, so only people they know can see what they post, and adults can’t message teens who don’t follow them.

“While we’ve engaged fully with the DPC throughout their inquiry, we disagree with how this fine was calculated and intend to appeal it. We’re continuing to carefully review the rest of the decision.”

Read more:
Instagram owner Meta fined €405m over handling of teens’ data

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Childcare costing parents up to 70 per cent of total pay with huge differences across UK
next post
Additional rises needed, declares Bank of England ratesetter

You may also like

FCA warns financial services firms over AI fraud

July 13, 2023

British Steel plans to shut furnaces putting up...

November 6, 2023

Unveiling the Top-Tier Education: The Big 5 Universities...

August 15, 2023

Women business-owners fear war more than men, new...

October 19, 2022

How I earn passively with KSD Miner: My...

November 4, 2024

How to Remove Text from Images: Unveil AI...

May 20, 2025

What Should I Know Before Hiring Kitchen Fitters?

February 18, 2025

Miliband sacks Dame Mary Archer from net zero...

May 3, 2025

Work on £1.75bn Midlands Rail Hub to Commence...

February 29, 2024

The Workflow Automation Hack THEY Don’t Want You...

March 14, 2023

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • FAST distribution and IA

      June 7, 2025
    • Why Independent Digital Platforms Are Gaining Ground Among UK Entrepreneurs

      June 7, 2025
    • Is Decentralisation the Future of Online Services in the UK?

      June 7, 2025
    • TSA tells Americans their Costco cards won’t fly at airport security despite love for hot dogs

      June 7, 2025
    • Trump announces China will restart rare earth mineral shipments to US after productive call

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk feud presents ‘unprecedented’ dynamic compared to past Trump disputes: expert

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,558)
    • Stocks (3,134)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved