Trouble in Italy

Antitrust authority fines Meta millions

Italy's antitrust authority has imposed a fine of 3.5 million euros on the US company Meta for unfair business practices. The reason: users were not given clear information about the collection and use of their data for commercial purposes when registering on the Instagram platform, the competition authorities said on Wednesday.

In addition, no useful notifications were provided for possible objections in the event of Facebook and Instagram accounts being blocked, they added. In particular, Meta did not specify how it decides on the blocking of Facebook accounts - whether as a result of an automated or "human" review.

Meta did not inform Facebook and Instagram users about the possibility of contesting the blocking of their accounts, the antitrust authority criticized. Users can turn to an out-of-court dispute resolution body or a judge. Finally, users were given too short a period (30 days) to contest the blocking.