European regulators fined Meta a combined €390 million in January 2023 over Facebook and Instagram’s use of personal data for behavioural advertising. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) set the penalties at €210 million for Facebook and €180 million for Instagram. The decisions challenged Meta’s legal basis for processing data—not the display of all ads.
How much was Meta fined?
The DPC announced the two decisions on 4 January 2023. The combined amount was €390 million; “over $400 million” was an approximate dollar conversion used in some contemporary US headlines, not the amount set by the regulator.
| Service | Fine |
|---|---|
| €210 million | |
| €180 million | |
| Combined | €390 million |
The DPC’s announcement described the outcome of two inquiries into Meta Platforms Ireland Limited’s services.
Why did regulators challenge Meta’s targeted-ad program?
The inquiries followed complaints lodged in May 2018 about Facebook and Instagram data processing. Meta had relied on consent for processing connected with providing its services, including behavioural advertising, then shifted to contractual necessity for most of that processing after the GDPR took effect.
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The dispute concerned whether processing personal data for behavioural ads was necessary to perform users’ contracts with Facebook or Instagram. Under Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, contractual necessity can provide a legal basis for processing only when the processing is necessary to perform the contract. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) concluded that behavioural advertising was not a core element necessary to provide the social-networking services, rejecting that basis for the processing at issue.
The EDPB’s binding dispute-resolution decisions addressed the Instagram and Facebook inquiries after the DPC’s draft decisions went through the GDPR cooperation process. The EDPB issued the decisions in December 2022 and published them on 12 January 2023; the DPC announced its final decisions on 4 January. The EDPB decision record includes the related decisions. The regulator directed the DPC to require a valid legal basis under Article 6(1) and compliance with the GDPR.
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Did the fines ban Facebook and Instagram ads?
No. The decisions did not amount to a general ban on displaying ads, nor did they prohibit every form of personalized advertising. They addressed the legal basis and transparency for the behavioural-advertising data processing covered by the inquiries. The DPC gave Meta three months to bring the relevant processing operations into compliance, according to its announcement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did Meta say about the decisions?
On 4 January 2023, Meta said it strongly disagreed and intended to appeal. In its statement on legal bases for ads in the EU, the company said it planned to change the legal basis for certain data used for behavioural advertising for people in the EU, EEA and Switzerland from legitimate interests to consent. Those statements describe Meta’s position at the time; they do not establish the final outcome of appeals or the current legal basis or account options.
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