Italy fines Meta 805 million euros over Android photo access

Italy's data protection agency has fined Facebook parent company Meta 805 million euros, or about 887 million dollars, for accessing Android users' photos and videos without proper consent. According to the authority, Meta accessed personal photographs, videos, and related metadata belonging to Italian users through a Facebook app feature without obtaining specific consent or properly informing them. Around 20 million Android users in Italy have been affected by the issue.

The Feature And Fine

The penalty relates to a gallery suggestions feature available since 2023, which suggests photos and videos from a phone gallery as ideas for posts while browsing. The regulator stated that Facebook requested access via a single authorisation valid for the entire app, preceded by a generic notice that did not let users know they were authorising gallery suggestions. Meta has 60 days to disable the feature by default and seek users' consent through a separate, specific request. The fine equals roughly 0.47 percent of the group's global revenue, which reached 201 billion dollars in 2025 with a net profit of 60.5 billion dollars.

Investigation Details

The investigation began in 2025 and did not cover the possible use of content to train artificial intelligence models, a practice Meta denied. The authority also reserved the right to assess a new feature launched in 2026 that allows content from galleries to be processed in the cloud. In determining the penalty size, regulators considered the high number of affected people, the ongoing duration of the infringement, and Meta's lack of cooperation during the probe. This penalty stands among the largest an Italian authority has imposed on a tech company, though Amazon received a larger initial fine in 2021 before it was reduced on appeal.

Company Response

A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the decision, calling the fine disproportionate, and confirmed that Meta plans to appeal. The spokesperson defended the tool, stating that it is a simple feature helping people share media on Facebook, and noting that users must grant device permissions and can change them at any time in their settings.

Context

Data protection regulators in Europe regularly scrutinize big technology companies over user consent and privacy practices under strict European Union rules. Major fines imposed by national authorities often trigger lengthy legal appeals from multinational firms seeking to reduce the financial penalty. Similar regulatory actions across various jurisdictions continue to target how applications collect and utilize personal data on mobile devices.