Six years later, Meta is fined a quarter of a billion dollars for data breach

Financial penalty! Meta is fined by both Ireland and Australia for wrongdoings. It's not fun experiencing significant financial repercussions across two continents: just one of the two fines amounts to over $250 million. That's what data breaches and privacy violations get you, though!

So, in Ireland, the Data Protection Commission has imposed a €251 million ($263 million) penalty stemming from a 2018 Facebook security incident. Hackers exploited a code vulnerability that compromised approximately 29 million user accounts globally, with three million users affected in the European region. The breach exposed sensitive personal information including full names, email address, date of birth, religion, children’s personal data, phone number, and location. Not fun.

The regulatory body criticized Meta for systemic failures in data protection design, arguing the company did not implement necessary safeguards or transparently manage the breach. One of the officials emphasized that such vulnerabilities represent serious risks to individual privacy and fundamental rights.

Simultaneously, Australia announced a $50 million AUD ($31.7 million) settlement connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This legal action originates from a 2018 whistleblower revelation that the political consulting firm harvested millions of Facebook user profiles to influence electoral outcomes, including the 2016 US presidential campaign and Brexit referendum.

The Australian settlement potentially compensates over 311,000 individuals who maintained Facebook accounts during a specific timeframe and met particular eligibility criteria. Meta has previously agreed to a $725 million settlement with US users for similar privacy violations.

Meta has defended its actions, stating that it promptly addressed the identified issues, proactively informed affected users, and implemented industry-leading protective measures across its platforms.

All of this goes to show that no, we're not that safe on the web when it comes to privacy and personal data. In fact, I think it gets worse with each passing year!