Meta Platforms, the parent company of leading social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, has asked a court to stop a continuing fine over privacy breach in Norway, according to reports.
The financial penalty was announced last month by Norway’s data protection regulator. Meta was warned to take remedial measures to address privacy violations on its social media platforms in the country or else it would be fined an amount equivalent to $100,000 a day.
In a latest development, however, Meta has requested the Norwegian court to issue a temporary injunction against the fine, which will continue through till November 3. It is clear from the stringent regulatory action that Meta did not review its advertising practices in terms of settling the matter concerning informed user consent.
Earlier this month, Meta announced it intended to seek approval for consent from users based in the European Union (EU) for behavioural advertising. The company said businesses would be allowed to continue target advertising on its platforms after it sought consent from consumers.
The regulator has, on the other hand, raised questions as to how Meta would seek consent from users. It has also pointed out the continuing violation of their privacy rights by the tech giant. According to the watchdog, there is no basis for an injunction and it will combat the fine in court.
Since August 14, Meta has accreted $94,313 in fines a day for harvesting users’ personal data and using it for targeted advertising, which is also called behavioural advertising. At the time of announcing the fine, the watchdog had termed Meta’s advertising practices “illegal” and stressed the need for regulatory intervention.
The regulator had categorically stated that Meta could not be allowed to gather personal data, which included users’ physical location.
Meta had responded to the penalty by saying that it would review the watchdog’s decision. In the meantime, Meta’s services remained operational in the region.
The Norwegian watchdog could also make the fine permanent in case its decision is referred to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB).
Meta has been slapped with a number of high-profile penalties for mishandling user data over the years. In May, the company was struck with a record-breaking $1.3 billion fine by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU’s data protection rules.
Meta has already been facing strict regulatory scrutiny for behavioural advertising in the European Union (EU) after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in favour of Germany’s leading antitrust watchdog earlier this month. In 2019, the regulator had ordered Meta to stop collecting user data for behavioural advertising without obtaining informed consent.
For more background on the case, check out this article: Norway regulator to fine Meta over privacy violations
