It’s an eternal story that begins again in the jungle of social networks and their regulation. The giant Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, has just been fined 251 million euros in Europe. In question: a security flaw listed on Facebook in 2018. This judgment, which comes more than six years after the events, was pronounced by the Irish Data Protection Commission, and is above all intended to stand out as a communication coup on the part of the Irish digital policeman. It is not the amount of the fine that will disrupt Meta’s balance sheet, but the message is sent: even after six years of proceedings, no one — not even Mark Zuckerberg — is safe from sanction. .
A critical flaw, and 29 million accounts affected
At the time, this security flaw had allowed hackers to access personal data of users of the platform, including the full name, email address, but also the telephone number, the date of birth, and even religious denomination, reports the Irish Data Protection Commission. As the facts concern Europe in particular, it is logically Ireland – the country where Meta’s local headquarters are located – which declared, in the name of the European Union, the conclusion of the case. According to the estimates of the digital policeman, on the 29 million accounts affected in the world due to this major security breach, 3 million were European.
Unsurprisingly, the American company immediately responded, announcing its plan to appeal. In an official press release, a Meta spokesperson explains: “We took immediate action to resolve the issue as soon as it was identified, and we proactively informed those affected and the Irish Data Protection Commission“. Between September 14 and 28, 2018, the firm actually revealed the presence of several bugswhich combined to give some malicious hackers the ability to generate authentication keys for accounts they don’t own, without having to enter a password.
An example sanction
Opened at the end of 2018, the investigation by the Irish Data Protection Commission mainly intends to strike a blow at the apparent impunity of the web giants, and the blatant lack of consideration they show when is about juggling our data. The fine thus hopes to show “how failing to integrate data protection requirements throughout the design and development cycle can expose people to very serious risks and harm“. Still, Meta’s call promises to drag things out even further.
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