THE European Union slapped Meta with a record USD 1.3 billion privacy fine on Monday and ordered it to stop transferring user data across the Atlantic by October, the latest salvo in a decade-long case sparked by US cybersnooping fears. The penalty of 1.2 billion Euros is the biggest since the EU’s strict data privacy regime took effect five years ago, surpassing Amazon’s 746 million Euro fine in 2021 for data protection violations.

 

Meta, which had previously warned that services for its users in Europe could be cut off, vowed to appeal and ask courts to immediately put the decision on hold. “This decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and US,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global and affairs, and Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead said in a statement.