In December 2024, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Meta Platforms Ireland Limited €251 million over a 2018 Facebook breach and related failures in security, breach reporting and record-keeping. The fine is listed as pending appeal; the DPC says an appealed fine cannot be collected while the appeal is pending.
What happened in the 2018 Facebook breach?
The breach stemmed from a flaw involving Facebook’s video uploader, the “View As” feature and the “Happy Birthday Composer.” Used together, the features generated a fully permissioned user access token for another person’s profile. Attackers used scripts to exploit the vulnerability from 14 to 28 September 2018.
Facebook security staff detected an unusual increase in video-upload activity and removed the functionality shortly afterward. The incident was an access-token vulnerability, not simply a leak of passwords.
How many accounts and what information were affected?
Approximately 29 million Facebook accounts worldwide were affected, including about 3 million in the EU/EEA. The exposed information varied by account and included full names, email addresses, phone numbers, locations, workplaces, dates of birth, religion, gender, timeline posts, group memberships and children’s personal data.
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Why did the DPC fine Meta?
On 17 December 2024, the DPC announced the outcomes of two inquiries into Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, formerly Facebook Ireland. The inquiries, numbered IN-18-10-1 and IN-18-11-1, addressed both the handling of the breach and the safeguards around Facebook’s product design.
| Penalty | GDPR provision | DPC finding |
|---|---|---|
| €8 million | Article 33(3) | The breach notification omitted required information. |
| €3 million | Article 33(5) | Meta failed to maintain contemporaneous records of the breach. |
| €130 million | Article 25(1) | Meta failed to implement appropriate data-protection measures. |
| €110 million | Article 25(2) | Meta failed to limit personal-data processing to what was necessary by default. |
The largest penalties concerned security and data protection by design and default. The reporting and record-keeping penalties addressed Meta’s duties after discovering a breach. DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said the case showed how failing to build data protection into design and development can expose people to serious risks and harms. He also said the vulnerabilities created a grave risk of misuse of profile information.
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Has Meta paid the fine?
The DPC’s fines register lists the decision, dated 12 and 17 December 2024, as “Pending Appeal.” The register explains that a fine cannot be collected while an appeal is pending. The listing therefore does not confirm that Meta has paid the penalties.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the exposed information matters
The exposed categories included contact and identifying details alongside information about people’s locations, work, interests and activity on Facebook. The DPC described the vulnerability as creating a grave risk of misuse. The DPC’s findings do not, on their own, establish that every affected person suffered financial loss or that all exposed categories were involved for every account.
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