Italy fines Meta $900M over Facebook's access to users' photo galleries

Baku, November 14, AZERTACItaly's data protection authority has fined Meta €805 million ($900 million) for accessing photos, videos and related metadata stored on Italian users' Android devices without obtaining specific and informed consent, Anadolu Agency reported. The Italian Data Protection Authority said the violation involved Facebook's "Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook" feature, introduced in 2023, which suggests photos and videos stored on users' smartphones for sharing on the platform.The investigation found that Facebook requested a single permission covering multiple functions, preceded by a generic warning that failed to inform users clearly that their photo galleries could also be accessed.The authority also found that the feature was enabled by default, potentially allowing the app to access users' entire photo archives once permission was granted.The investigation was launched in July 2025 following a complaint by the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center