Norway’s data protection regulator said in a press release today that Meta violates the privacy of Instagram and Facebook users. If Meta does not take corrective action, it will be fined one million crowns ($100,000) per day from August 4 to November 3. “This is so obviously illegal that we need to intervene now and immediately,” said Tobias Judin, head of Norway’s privacy commission, Datatilsynet.Meta is in trouble in Europe
The Norwegian regulator came to this decision by acting after a European court ruling that banned Meta from collecting user data for advertising, such as location, behavior and more. Datatilsynet has referred its actions to the European Data Protection Board, which could extend the penalty across Europe. By the way, let’s also mention that Norway is a member of the European single market, but technically not a member of the EU.
Meta said in a statement to Reuters that it is examining Datatilsynet’s decision and that the decision will not immediately affect its services. A Meta spokesperson said: “Debates about legal basis have been going on for some time and businesses continue to face a lack of regulatory certainty in this area.” made the statement.
Meta is under pressure across Europe for its strides on data privacy. Earlier this month, Ireland’s data regulator (DPC) ruled that Meta cannot collect user data for behavioral advertising. In May, the EU fined Meta a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for transferring user data to its servers in the US. In addition, Meta’s new Twitter rival Threads is not yet available in the European Union due to privacy concerns. Meta even went so far as to block EU users from accessing the new social media site with a VPN.
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