Instagram was penalised €405 million by Irish authorities for abusing children’s privacy.
The ongoing issue centred on children’s data, notably their email and phone numbers.
According to reports, several users who wanted access to analytics tools like profile visits upgraded to corporate accounts without realising that doing so made more of their data public.
The company that owns Instagram, Meta, announced that it will challenge the ruling. The regulator has penalised the corporation three times.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) stated, “We adopted our final judgement last Friday and it does entail a fine of €405m [£349m].”
“This inquiry focused on outdated settings that we modified over a year ago, and we’ve since added several new features to help keep teenagers safe and their information private,” a Meta representative told the reports.
When a person under the age of 18 joins Instagram, their account is automatically set to private, meaning that only individuals they know can view what they post and that adults cannot message teenagers who are not following them.
“While we have cooperated fully with the DPC throughout their investigation, we disagree with the method used to determine this amount and plan to challenge it.
“We’re still carefully examining the remainder of the judgement,”
Large technological firms with European headquarters in the Republic of Ireland are governed by the DPC.
But in contrast, the Luxembourgish data authorities penalised Amazon a record €746 million while it fined WhatsApp €225 million.
Andy Burrows, director of child safety online policy at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), said of Instagram’s fine: “This was a grave infringement with significant safeguarding consequences and the potential to do genuine harm to children using Instagram.
“The decision highlights how regulation is already making children safer online and shows how effective enforcement can protect children on social media.
“It’s now up to the next prime minister to deliver the Online Safety Bill in full and without delay in order to meet his promise to provide children with the best protections possible.”
