Facebook Fined $1.3 Billion and Ordered to Delete Illegally Collected EU Data from Storage

Here successful nan U.S., we person very fewer privateness protections, mostly because our lawmakers person ceded that crushed to a fewer tech billionaires who now power our discourse, our news, and, well, almost everything. Our information protections, specified arsenic they are, are done by state. California, ironically perhaps, is 1 authorities that stands retired for its attempts to protect data, which it sewage done ballot propositions for illustration Proposition 24, nan California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”).

But nan European Union has taken a overmuch stronger stance to protect data, which translates to quality rights, populist (dependent upon shared group of facts) and its citizens. As a result, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission announced a stunning punishment connected Monday for Meta/Facebook, ordering Facebook to delete illegally collected EU information from retention and fining them a “record” (according to nan New York Times) $1.3 cardinal successful fines.

“Facebook has to delete each of its illegally collected EU information from storage. They’re besides being fined $1.3 BILLION but arsenic I’ve said that’s nan insignificant deed to its surveillance capitalism business model,” Jason Kint reported connected what he called nan “Earth quaking” news.

Here is nan afloat determination retired of Ireland. Earth quaking. And unsocial to Facebook because it tried to usage contractual clauses for surveillance and transportation of information to nan US. https://t.co/w9ptSiVZPK

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) May 22, 2023

Kint added to his take, “Bottom-line, you were breaking nan rule erstwhile we revenge this, and you kept connected breaking nan rule until coming is really I publication this thing. And our bid is truthful proportionate to protect our people’s quality rights.”

Can you ideate nan precocious tribunal successful nan United States caring astir quality authorities this much? I can’t.

Basically, nan European Union doesn’t want information astir its users sent to nan U.S. because they don’t deliberation it’s protected from American spy agencies.

“The penalty, announced by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, is perchance 1 of nan astir consequential successful nan 5 years since nan European Union enacted nan landmark information privateness rule known arsenic nan General Data Protection Regulation,” nan Times considered.

But of course, Meta is appealing and meantime nan U.S. and EU are moving connected a information sharing agreement, truthful each of this mightiness beryllium irrelevant.

What remains relevant, however, is our ain lawmakers’ unwillingness to spell to bat for our information privateness authorities and nan norm by unelected tech lords complete our lives, group to get truthful overmuch worse arsenic AI improves.