Norway’s data protection authority, Datatilsynet, has announced that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will face daily fines of one million crowns ($100,000) unless it takes remedial action to address privacy breaches.
The fines will be charged from August 4th to November 3rd, potentially totaling $10 million. Datatilsynet accuses Meta of illegally harvesting user data, including physical locations, for behavioral advertising, a common practice in Big Tech.
Tobias Judin, head of Datatilsynet’s international section, stated that the breach is so clear and illegal that immediate intervention is necessary. Meta responded that it would review Datatilsynet’s decision and claims there will be no immediate impact on its services.
However, Datatilsynet has referred the case to the European Data Protection Board, which could result in a permanent fine and expand the decision’s territorial scope within Europe, putting additional pressure on Meta.
This development follows the European Union’s top court ruling against Meta’s data harvesting practices for behavioral advertising. In a separate incident, Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) fined Meta a record-breaking €1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) for its handling of user information and demanded the cessation of data transfers to the United States.
Although Norway is not an EU member, it is part of the European single market, indicating that the fine’s impact could extend across Europe, adding more challenges for Meta in managing its data practices.
