Italy fines Meta €805 million over Facebook's access to Android users' photos
Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, has fined Meta Platforms Ireland €805 million (about $887 million) after finding that the Facebook app on Android accessed Italian users' photographs, videos and related metadata without specific consent or proper information. The case concerns the gallery-suggestions feature, on by default since 2023 and covering about 20 million Android users in Italy. Meta has 60 days to switch the feature off by default and seek consent separately. Meta was not immediately available for comment.
Key points
- The Garante fined Meta €805 million over Facebook's Android gallery-suggestions feature, on by default since 2023.
- About 20 million Android users in Italy were affected, the authority says.
- Meta has 60 days to switch the feature off by default and ask for consent separately.
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- The case did not examine AI training, which Meta denies; a cloud-processing feature may be checked separately.
What happened
The investigation began in July 2025 after a report from the Centro Tutela Consumatori Utenti in Bolzano, and the authority carried out its own technical analysis of how the feature reached the gallery.
The Garante treated the phone itself as private space under European ePrivacy rules: reaching into it needs specific, informed consent, whether or not the data is then transmitted or anyone is harmed.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The fine, the findings, the orders and the deadlines are in the Garante's own published statement.
What we don't know yet
- Meta's response — the company was not immediately available for comment in Reuters' report, and no appeal had been reported.
- Whether Meta will pay, appeal or comply first — none of that had been announced.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (6)
Why this label: The fine, the company and the finding are in the authority's own statement, read in full; the dollar figure is Reuters' conversion.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The feature, the single authorisation, the generic notice and the default-on setting are the authority's own findings.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The legal basis is stated in the authority's statement; it also rejected Meta's argument that the Irish authority was the competent one.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The orders and deadlines are in the authority's statement.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The user figure, the aggravating factors and the investigation's origin are the authority's.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The AI-training question is expressly outside this decision in the authority's own words; Meta's denial is its position.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Most phone users tap 'allow' once and never think about it again. Italy's regulator has now put an €805 million price on the difference between that tap and real consent — and ordered the default changed for everyone in Italy, including people who already said yes.
Background
Facebook's gallery-suggestions feature becomes available on Android, preset to on.
The Garante opens its investigation after a complaint from a Bolzano consumer centre.
The Garante fines Meta €805 million and orders the feature off by default within 60 days.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published — the decision is confirmed by the Garante's own statement, with Reuters reporting the same fine and orders.