Irish regulator fines Facebook for privacy law violations

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Category: Business

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Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. watchdog / ˈwɒtʃˌdɔg / (n.) – a person or a group that guards and ensures that companies or governments are not doing anything bad or illegal
    Example:

    An election watchdog is on standby while the votes are being counted.


  2. comply / kəmˈplaɪ / (v.) – to do what is asked based on a set of rules or a request
    Example:

    Miranda needs to comply with all the requirements to be qualified for the scholarship.


  3. evolve / ɪˈvɒlv / (v.) – to gradually change or develop
    Example:

    Phil’s business has evolved from a small food cart to a multi-million food franchise.


  4. regulator / ˈrɛg yəˌleɪ tər / (n.) – a person or a committee that makes sure that processes within the government are done properly and legally
    Example:

    The newly established committee will serve as a regulator for granting financial aid.


  5. violation / ˌvaɪ əˈleɪ ʃən / (n.) – an act that breaks rules or the law
    Example:

    The driver had to pay a $100 fine for a traffic violation.


Article

Read the text below.

Ireland’s privacy watchdog has fined Facebook’s parent company, Meta, 17 million euros, or about $19 million, for violating Europe’s privacy law.


The regulator, the Data Protection Commission, has been investigating how Meta Platforms Inc. complied with the requirements of the law, known as General Data Protection Regulation, in how it handled personal data in twelve data breach notifications between June and December 2018.


The agency said Tuesday that it found that Meta didn’t have the right measures in place to show it could protect EU users’ data.


“This fine is about record keeping practices from 2018 that we have since updated, not a failure to protect people’s information,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We take our obligations under the GDPR seriously, and will carefully consider this decision as our processes continue to evolve.”


Under GDPR, the Irish regulator leads cross-border data privacy cases for big tech companies that have their European headquarters in Dublin. It has investigated Meta for a number of data and privacy issues and fined the company’s WhatsApp communications service 225 million euros, or $267 million at the time, in September, for another GDPR violation.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Considering Meta’s recent violation of Europe’s privacy law, how do you think companies should deal with personal information protection (ex. put several verification processes)? Discuss.
  • Almost everything is now done online. As individual users of social networking sites, how can we protect our personal information? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • The Data Protection Commission has investigated and fined Meta for a number of data privacy issues. Aside from giving fines, what else should be done to penalize those who violate the General Data Protection Regulation? Discuss.
  • In 2020, Japan made changes in its data privacy law to mirror Europe’s GDPR. Some of the changes include increased penalties and expanded individual rights. Do you think these changes are enough to ensure data protection? Why or why not? Discuss.