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Italy fines Meta €805m over Facebook app's access to Android users' photos

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Summary

  • Italy's Data Protection Authority has fined Meta €805 million ($887 million) for accessing Android users' photos and videos without their specific consent.
  • The access came through Facebook's gallery suggestions feature, available since 2023, which proposes photos from a user's phone as ideas for posts.
  • The authority said about 20 million Android users in Italy were affected and that a single app-wide permission did not make clear what they were authorizing.
  • Meta has 60 days to disable the feature by default, seek users' consent separately, and explain what the feature does and how to turn it off.
  • The fine is among the largest an Italian authority has imposed on a tech giant, roughly 0.4% of Meta's annual turnover.

Reactions

  • Meta did not respond when contacted on the day the fine was announced.
  • Meta denied using users' content to train artificial intelligence models, a possibility the investigation did not cover.
  • The authority's statement said the app-wide permission would let Facebook read a device's entire photo archive, usually permanently, without users or authorities being able to verify what is used.
  • It was reported that Meta may appeal the fine.

Timeline newest first

  1. Italy's Data Protection Authority announced on 14 November 2026 that it fined Meta €805 million for accessing Android users' photos and videos without specific consent.
  2. The authority gave Meta 60 days to disable the gallery suggestions feature by default and to seek users' consent separately.
  3. Meta had not responded to requests for comment by the afternoon of 14 November, and it may appeal the €805 million fine.
  4. The authority ruled that Facebook's camera roll suggestions feature violates the Italian law implementing the EU's ePrivacy directive.
  5. The authority rejected Meta's objection that the Irish authority had jurisdiction, saying the ePrivacy regulation does not provide for the one-stop-shop mechanism.
  6. Meta denied using users' content to train artificial intelligence models; the investigation, opened in 2025, did not cover that possibility.
  7. The authority reserved the right to assess separately a feature launched in 2026 that allows gallery content to be processed in the cloud.

Sources newest first

  • Italy fines Meta €805m over accessing users' photosbbc.com· 5h

    Italian regulators have fined Meta €805m for accessing Android users' photos without their specific consent through a Facebook feature suggesting gallery photos as post ideas, and gave the company 60 days to disable it by default and seek consent separately. A US judge has separately ordered Meta to pay $25bn over its handling of Facebook user data.

  • Italy fines Meta $880mn over photo privacylemonde.fr· 6h

    Italy's data protection authority fined Meta €805 million for accessing Facebook users' photos, videos and metadata on Android devices without their specific consent, via the gallery suggestions feature introduced in 2023. Meta must now seek consent through a separate, clearly signposted request, and Le Monde reports it may appeal.

  • Italy fines Meta €805mn over photo privacy: authority | Rapporteurrapporteur.com· 6h

    Italy's data protection authority has fined Meta €805 million for accessing users' photos without specific consent via Facebook's gallery suggestions feature, requiring separate consent and clearer disclosure, and Rapporteur says Meta may appeal. The fine is among the largest Italy has imposed on a tech giant, roughly 0.4 per cent of Meta's $201 billion turnover, and comes after New Mexico ordered Meta to pay a record $25 billion; Meta called that fine a "tax" on freedom of expression.

  • Italy hits Meta with €805m fine over privacy law violationpolitico.eu· 7h

    Italy's Data Protection Authority has fined Meta €805 million — its largest fine ever — for using photos and videos from Android phones without users' specific consent through Facebook's camera roll suggestions feature. The authority ruled the single app-wide permission violates Italian law implementing the EU's ePrivacy directive, gave Meta 60 days to fix the feature, and said Meta can appeal.

  • Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data accesscnbc.com· 8h

    Italy's data protection agency fined Meta 805 million euros ($887 million), alleging the company accessed Android users' photos and videos through a Facebook app feature without their consent. Meta has 60 days to disable the feature by default, denies using users' content to train AI models, and was not immediately available for comment.

Background newest first

  • We tested 6 popular apps to see what data they collect and share. Here’s what we found | CBC Newscbc.ca· 36h

    CBC News Marketplace had University of Calgary researchers and Privo scan six popular Canadian apps, finding the Tim Hortons app appeared to send device details to an overseas third party on launch, PC Optimum appeared to share searches and personal data with 10 outside companies, and the Weather Network appeared to send precise location and an advertising ID for targeted ads. Facebook appeared to collect metadata of unposted images while keeping data in-house, as did Amazon and YouTube, whose tests showed no targeted ads on children's content; the companies say they don't sell personal data, and Ann Cavoukian recommends users ask what is collected and delete unused apps.