Zuckerberg's firms fined $2.8bn for wrongful user data processing in last 4 yrs: Report

New Delhi: Mark Zuckerberg's Meta and its affiliated subsidiaries have incurred fines totalling $2.8 billion in the last four years due to multiple GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) violations, a new report has revealed.

According to data gathered by Finbold as of January 17, the largest fine of $1.3 billion was imposed on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited in May 2023 for insufficient legal basis for data processing.

This fine includes nearly half (48 per cent) of all penalties incurred by Meta for GDPR breaches.

Other fines included WhatsApp Ireland in September 2021 ($245.25 million), Facebook Ireland in December 2021 ($65.4 million), Meta Platforms Ireland Limited in March 2022 ($18.53 million), WhatsApp Ireland in January 2023 ($5.9 million), and Facebook Germany GmbH in December 2019 ($55,590), according to the report.

"The fines levied on Meta are mainly based on the requirement for companies to store data in the country where it is collected rather than permitting unrestricted movement to global data centres," the report said.

"Notably, imposing fines does not necessarily mean that Meta will pay them, as the company currently has pending appeals. Successful appeals could lead to a reduction or complete elimination of the fines," it added.

In addition, the report mentioned that the fines serve as a cautionary tale for most companies, especially those dealing with vast amounts of data.