Thursday, December 26, 2024

Italy fines Facebook parent Meta $6.45 million, here’s why – Times of India

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Italy’s communications watchdog AGCOM has fined Facebook EUR 5.85 million for breaching advertising rules. This is the latest in a…
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Facebook parent has been under scrutiny for its advertising practices. The company has been fined multiple times this year and now, Italy has become the latest country to slap a fine on the company for breach of advertising rules.

Meta became the latest tech company to be fined by Italy’s communications watchdog AGCOM for breaches of a ban on the advertising of gambling.

The company has been fined EUR 5.85 million (approx $6.45 million) in connection with profiles and accounts on Facebook and Instagram, news agency Reuters reported. Furthermore, the fine is also for the sponsored content which promoted either betting or games with cash prizes.

Previous fines on Meta
In November, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) decided to extend the ban on “behavioural advertising” that was initially imposed by Norway – impacting the company which apparently faced fines of up to 4% of its global revenue.

Meta Platforms uses Facebook and Instagram for advertising and both platforms resisted efforts to curtail the controversial advertising practice.


In January, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined the Facebook-parent company EUR 390 million (approx $413 million) for the way it handled user data and violated European Union data protection rules, potentially putting parts of its ad business at risk.

Meta was fined EUR 210 million (approx $222 million) for violating European Union privacy rules with Facebook’s practices and EUR 180 million (around $191 million) for similar practices on Instagram. The agency said that the way Meta handled user data in 2018 allowed it to process user data for target advertising.

Italy also fined other tech giants
Earlier this month, AGCOM also fined Google-owned YouTube and Amazon’s Twitch for breaching the ban. YouTube and Twitch were fined EUR 2.25 million and EUR 900,000, respectively.

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