Italy’s antitrust regulator on February 17 announced a new $8.45 million fine against social media website Facebook for ‘misleading’ data protection practices.
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After an investigation, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said on Wednesday that it had found that Facebook Inc. and its subsidiary Facebook Ireland Ltd. did not implement a 2018 order requiring them to dismiss an incorrect practice in the use of users’ data, nor did they publish a corrective declaration requested by the watchdog, Xinhua news agency reported.
They still do not provide immediate and clear information on the collection and use of user data for commercial purposes. This is information that the consumer needs to decide whether or not to subscribe to the service, given the economic value that Facebook places on data provided by the user, which represents payment for the use of the service,’ AGCM added.
In November 2018, after a nine-month investigation, the AGCM concluded that Facebook used subscribers’ data in a way that breached Italy’s Consumer Code. Therefore, it handed Facebook two fines amounting to 10 million Euros ($12 million).
The first fine was imposed because Facebook “deceptively persuades users to register on the platform” without informing them properly and immediately in the signup phase that their data would be collected for commercial purposes, the watchdog explained. The second fine in 2018 related to passing user data onto third parties.
On Friday, the Italian competition watchdog explained in a statement that the new 8.45 million dollar fine was decided because “the two companies have not published the corrective statement and have not ceased the established unfair practice.”
The most recent proceeding against Facebook was launched in January 2020, and the fine was decided in a meeting on February 9, according to the Italian watchdog.
A FB spokesman said the company had taken notice of the regulator’s announcement but would “await the Council of State decision on our appeal against the Authority’s initial findings”.
