Meta, the tech conglomerate by Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly again doing what it’s known best for, invading the privacy of users for its own profits.
The parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram has come under fire repeatedly for not taking care of user data and misusing it for its own gains or providing it to third parties for advertisement and more.
Granted, Meta is not the only company being called out increasingly over misusing user data but it does seem to be the one most frequently in the news, with the latest one coming from Europe, specifically Norway.
Apparently, Norway is putting a hefty fine of one million Norwegian Krone on Meta for privacy breaches and not complying with the laws.
What Is The Fine For?
Norway’s data protection authority, Datatilsynet recently revealed that Meta is going to be fined around Rs 82 lakh or one million Norwegian Krone on a daily basis starting from 4th August and going on till 3rd November for breaching privacy laws of users and facing other European implications.
The company will be fined on a per-day basis until it takes remedial action and goes according to the laws laid down.
As per reports, the main reason for the fine is Datatilsynet’s claims that Meta is unlawfully harvesting data of users in Norway in order to do a kind of targeted advertising also called behavioural advertising. Said to be a common marketing model, it basically uses various user data including physical locations and more to profile them and then show them ads specifically related to that information.
However, Norwegian authorities have said this to be illegal and Datatilsynet has already laid a temporary ban on such practices on both Facebook and Instagram.
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Tobias Judin, the head of Datatilsynet’s international section speaking with Reuters said that “It is so clear that this is illegal that we need to intervene now and immediately. We cannot wait any longer.”
Tobias did clarify though how “This decision does not ban Facebook or Instagram in Norway,” and that “The purpose is rather to ensure that people in Norway can use these services in a secure way and that their rights are safeguarded.”
Meta as per a statement given to The Associated Press on Monday did say they will be reviewing the decision taken by Datatilsynet but that currently this will not really have any immediate impact on its services in the region.
In the statement, Meta reportedly said that “The debate around legal bases has been ongoing for some time and businesses continue to face a lack of regulatory certainty in this area,” adding further that “We continue to constructively engage with the Irish (Data Protection Commission), our lead regulator in the EU, regarding our compliance with its decision.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: The Hindu, Business Today, Business Standard
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This post is tagged under: meta norway, meta, meta privacy, meta privacy laws, meta privacy norway, norway eu, meta europe
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