RismadarVoice Reporters
November 15, 2026
Italy’s data protection authority has imposed an €805 million fine, approximately $880 million, on Facebook’s parent company, Meta, for accessing users’ photographs, videos and related information without obtaining specific and informed consent.
The Italian regulator, known as Garante, announced the penalty on Saturday, November 14, following an investigation into Facebook’s access to photo galleries on Android smartphones.
According to the authority, the investigation focused on a feature introduced in 2023 that suggests photographs and videos stored on users’ phones as potential content for Facebook posts.
Investigators found that the application requested access to users’ photo galleries through a general permission covering multiple functions, without adequately explaining how the information would be accessed.
The regulator also established that the gallery suggestions feature was enabled by default, raising concerns about users’ ability to make informed decisions concerning their personal information.
Approximately 20 million Android users in Italy were potentially affected by the practice.
The authority ruled that Meta’s approach violated Italian privacy legislation implementing the European Union’s ePrivacy Directive.
It ordered the company to obtain separate and explicit consent for the feature, clearly explain its purpose and inform users how to disable it.
Meta must also ensure that the feature remains switched off by default, including for users who previously granted access.
The company has been given 60 days to implement the required changes and must provide updates to the regulator on its compliance measures.
In determining the penalty, the authority considered the number of affected users, the duration of the infringement and what it described as Meta’s insufficient cooperation during the investigation.
The fine represents approximately 0.47 per cent of Meta’s global annual turnover.
Meta rejected the regulator’s conclusions, describing the assessment and penalty as disproportionate, and announced plans to appeal.
The Italian investigation did not determine whether users’ photographs were used to train artificial intelligence systems, an allegation Meta has denied.
The development follows a separate ruling in the United States, where a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in October over violations of state consumer protection laws relating to user privacy and data practices.
Meta has also indicated that it will challenge that judgment.
The Italian decision adds to regulatory scrutiny of major technology companies over transparency, data access and the protection of users’ personal information.
