Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access

Italy’s data protection watchdog has imposed a €805 million fine on Meta, equal to $887 million, after concluding that the company accessed Android users’ photos and videos without properly obtaining permission or notifying them, Business Recorder reported. The material was surfaced through a Facebook feature that recommends items from a user’s phone gallery for possible posting.

Meta must turn off the feature by default within 60 days and obtain consent separately, according to the regulator. Its inquiry, opened in 2025, did not examine whether the content was used to train artificial intelligence systems, a possibility Meta has denied; the agency also said it could review separately a cloud-processing feature introduced in 2026. The fine represents about 0.47% of Meta’s worldwide revenue.