Meta Fined €251 Million by EU for 2018 Facebook Data Breach

The European Union’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a €251 million ($263 million) fine on Meta Platforms for a 2018 data breach that compromised the personal information of about 29 million Facebook users, with 3 million affected within the EU. Attackers exploited a flaw in Facebook’s “View As” feature, allowing unauthorized access to user accounts and exposure of data including names, contact information, locations, and other personal details. Meta promptly addressed the vulnerability and notified the DPC. This penalty contributes to nearly €3 billion in fines levied against Meta under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) since 2018, including a record €1.2 billion fine in 2023, which Meta is currently appealing alongside this latest decision. The company maintains that it has implemented robust measures to safeguard user data and plans to contest the DPC’s ruling.