The fourth fine from EU regulators cost Facebook owner Meta 1.2 billion euros. This is due to transferring EU user data to the United States in breach of a previous court ruling, Ireland's regulator announced.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which acts on behalf of the European Union, said the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) had ordered it to collect the billion-euro administrative fine.
Since 2020, the DPC has been investigating Meta Ireland's transfer of personal data from the EU to the United States. It found that Meta, which has its European headquarters in Dublin, failed to "address the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects" that were identified in a previous ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
In response, Meta said that the ruling was "flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies".
"We intend to appeal both the decision's substance and its orders including the fine, and will seek a stay through the courts to pause the implementation deadlines," Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg and chief legal officer Jennifer Newstead said in a blog post.
"There is no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe," they added.
Meta said it hopes to see the US and EU adopt a new legal framework for the use of personal data in the coming months, following an agreement in principle last year, which could allow it to continue its data transfer practices.
In January 2023, the DPC fined the social media giant 390 million euros for breaking data rules in its use of targeted advertising on its apps while in March 2023, Meta was made to pay 5.5 million euros for breaching the GDPR with its WhatsApp messaging service.
"Ever since Edward Snowden's revelations on US big tech aiding the (National Security Agency) mass surveillance apparatus, Facebook (now Meta) was subject to litigation in Ireland," said the European Centre for Digital Rights.