Meta has been fined a total of EUR 390 million (USD 414 million) by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), for breaching data handling practices under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Meta’s social media units Facebook and Instagram have been slapped with EUR 210 million (USD 223 million) and EUR 180 million (USD 191 million) fines respectively for using user data for personalized advertisements on their platforms. The investigation found that Meta’s terms of service had a clause that forced users to legally consent to personalized advertisements to access the services. 

Meta “strongly disagrees” with the DPC, stating that it lacked regulatory clarity regarding the legal basis that should be used for certain advertisements. Despite the decision, Meta will not prevent targeted or personalized advertising on its platforms and intends to appeal against these allegations, stating that its approach to data protection respects the GDPR. 

Meta has three months to comply with the ruling by providing users with the freedom to consent over targeted ad promotions. In 2021, Meta’s data handling practices helped it to generate USD 118 billion in revenue. However, the decision by the DPC has now put 5%–7% of the company’s advertising revenue at risk.