Meta is once again in the crosshairs over privacy, with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) poised to levy a record fine.
According to The Irish Times, the DPC is preparing to level the fine over Meta’s transfer of EU user data to the US, an ongoing point of contention under the bloc’s GDPR legislation.
The EU has cracked down on companies transferring data to the US over concerns of surveillance by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Meta, like many other US companies, freely transfers data to its US-based servers, putting it at odds with the DPC, which acts as the EU’s privacy watchdog in matters pertaining to tech firms.
While details are still sparse, the outlet reports that the DPC’s fine is set to exceed the previous record, a €746 million fine levied against Amazon. The agency will also order Meta to stop transferring EU user data to the US.
Given that Meta had previously warned it would pull out of the EU market if such an order was ever handed down, the company could be headed for a high-stakes standoff with the bloc.
