Meta hit with a record $1.3 billion fine in the EU for data privacy | CNN Business

London
CNN
—

Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) by European regulators for transferring data from Facebook users in the EU to servers in the United States.

The European Data Protection Board announced the fine in a statement on Monday, saying that following an investigation into Facebook ( FB ) by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the main privacy regulator that oversees the operations of Goal in Europe.

The fine is the largest ever imposed under Europe’s signature data privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Meta breach is “very serious as it concerns systematic, repetitive and continuous transfers,” said Andrea Jelinek, president of the European Data Protection Board.

“Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizations that serious violations have far-reaching consequences,” he added.

Meta, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, said it would appeal the ruling, including the fine. There would be no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe, he added.

“The ability to transfer data across borders is critical to the functioning of the global open internet,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, and Jennifer Newstead, the company’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.

“Thousands of businesses and other organizations rely on the ability to transfer data between the EU and the US to operate and provide services that people use every day.”

— This is a developing story and will be updated.