In our data-driven world, it can sometimes seem like the rules for tech firms breach borders across the world – the more money you have to play with, it seems, the more rules you can bend. Today, at least, that isn’t the case, as Meta received a record Facebook fine for breaching rules put in place to safeguard users’ information.

Today, Hannah Murphy at the Financial Times has reported that Meta has been hit with a record €1.2bn (£1.4bn GBP) fine by a European Union regulatory board for “privacy violations”, and ordered to suspend all user data transfers to the US. As Murphy points out, it’s the most significant penalty of its kind in the bloc’s – that is to say, the continent’s – history.

Meta wants to go broader than borders

It transpires that Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the DPC, has taken umbrage with Meta’s handling of users’ data. The regulator exists to keep organisations of its nature accountable; according to the DPC, Facebook, which handles its European operations out of Dublin, had violated rules requiring the transfers of personal data from the EU to the US without appropriate safeguards in place.

It’s significant that the DPC is figure heading for the entire EU – so often, Meta and similar corporations seem to bypass national jurisdiction – but no surprise, considering its European base of operations.

“We are . . .  disappointed to have been singled out when using the same legal mechanism as thousands of other companies looking to provide services in Europe,”
– Facebook’s Nick Clegg

The ruling follows continued pressure within Europe for regulators to keep a close eye on its citizens’ data, and where it’s being used. Previously, activists have warned that private information remains “exposed to surveillance programmes”.

Previously serving as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats and the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister, Clegg certainly raised some eyebrows when he joined the company as its president of global affairs. Yet his position within the company provides an indication of Meta’s grand ambitions, and crucially, the calibre of employees the corporation is willing to recruit, to skirt the legal line. This time, it hasn’t paid off.

Clegg, however, offered an indictment of the decision: “This decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and the US.”

Facebook fine: where does Meta go from here?

The thing is, it’s easy to demonise one of the most ubiquitous companies on the planet – Facebook alone has 2.91 billion active users. Clegg’s comments potentially signal a sea change regarding how and why gargantuan corporations store “private” user data, but Meta certainly isn’t the only organisation we’ve put our faith in that ships and stores our data globally.

George Orwell once predicted a surveillance state, but he could never have predicted that such surveillance wouldn’t stem from our physical presence, but our digital footprint. Looking to the future, the DPC has issued Facebook’s EU HQ five months to “suspend any future transfer of personal data to the US,” and six months to cease processing EU citizens’ personal information in violation of the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation.

It gives Meta a headstart: a way to either find a new loophole with which to thread the needle, or potentially plan to retreat and regroup on the other side of the Atlantic. Have they overstepped? Maybe, but for a corporation monopolising the market that’s reportedly worth $646.29 billion USD, Meta may just be fine to flex its muscles, incur the cost, and carry on regardless.

Source: Facebook owner Meta hit with record €1.2bn fine over EU-US data transfers.

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New Proposal Details

The new proposal being outlined by the Digital Minister, Matt Hancock, would provide a means for protecting personal data in the UK that is as stringent as the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). With Brexit, the need for greater levels of data protection in Britain has been made more serious, and the new bill would provide those controls. The rules include provisions including:

• • Make withdrawing consent for their personal data use simpler
  • allow for requests for data to be deleted
  • require firms to obtain “explicit” consent for processing personal data
  • Expand the definition of personal data to include IP addresses, DNA and cookies
  • let people get hold of the information organizations hold on them much more freely

The new regulations would go far beyond what already exists in the UK regarding the ‘right to be forgotten’, which makes specific constraints on what can appear in search engines. However, these new regulations, like the GDPR, would provide control over personal data that is held by a wide range of companies.

Massive Fines

Additionally, the bill would require substantial fines for violation of the new rules. Currently, the maximum fine for those who violate data protection regulations is 500,000 GBP. However, the new laws would make it possible for firms that violate data protection to be fined as much as 17 million GBP, or 4% of total global profit.

Whether the new regulations become law remains to be seen. However, it will certainly make for interesting debate around how personal and private data should be managed and protected, and some course of action must be taken in the UK, as the EU institutes the GDPR. As protection increases, the risk of those embarrassing moments being made public should reduce substantially.

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