Australian Court Slaps Facebook Meta with $14 Million Fine for User Data Breach
An Australian court has ordered the owner of Facebook, Meta Platforms, to pay fines amounting to A$20 million ($14 million) for collecting user data without disclosing its actions. They accomplished this through a smartphone app called Onavo, which they advertised as a way to protect privacy.
The court also ordered Meta to pay A$400,000 in legal costs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which filed the lawsuit against them. This is related to their handling of user information, particularly after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in the 2016 U.S. election.
The app, Onavo, was presented as a virtual private network (VPN) service that would keep personal information safe. However, Facebook used it to collect users’ location, activity, and website visits for its own advertising purposes, without informing users adequately.
The court recognized that Meta could have faced much higher fines, given the number of times users downloaded the app, but they settled on the agreed amount as a sufficient penalty. Meta stated that they have worked on providing more transparency and control over data usage in recent years.
This fine addresses one aspect of Meta’s legal issues in Australia, but they still face another civil court action from Australia’s Office of the Information Commissioner regarding their dealings with Cambridge Analytica in the country.
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