news 
Meta Fined $263 Million Over 2018 Security Breach That Affected ~3 Million EU Users
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a massive fine of €265 million (approximately $263 million) on Meta for a significant security breach that occurred in 2018. The incident, which exposed personal data of approximately three million users in the European Union, was deemed to pose a grave risk of misuse.
According to reports, the breach took place when Facebook stored hundreds of millions of users’ passwords in plaintext on its servers. This allowed unauthorized access to user accounts and potentially enabled malicious actors to exploit the security flaw.
The Irish DPC’s enforcement action marks a significant shift from previous disputes with Meta, as no objections were raised by peer authorities during the process. Critics have long accused the regulator of under-enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on tech giants like Meta.
In response to the fine, Meta has stated that it took immediate action to address the issue once it was identified and proactively notified impacted users as well as the Irish DPC. The company emphasized its commitment to protecting user data across its platforms, citing a range of industry-leading measures in place to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
The recent enforcement demonstrates the regulator’s strengthened stance on upholding GDPR regulations, following criticism for previous lenient approaches.
Source: techcrunch.com
