Ireland Fines Meta $414 Million Over Targeted Ads Using EU GDPR

The Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta over $400 million Wednesday after finding its Facebook and Instagram services breached EU privacy rules, reported The New York Times. 

Facebook parent company Meta on Wednesday was slapped with a pair of fines totaling more than $400 million as the Irish privacy regulator concluded the company’s advertising and data handling practices were in breach of EU privacy laws.

Related: Irish Watchdog Fines Meta For Violations Of Europe’s Data Privacy Law

In a statement Wednesday, the Irish Data Protection Commission said that Meta should be ordered to pay two fines — one, a 210 million euro ($222.5 million) fine over violations of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, and the second, a 180 million euro fine related to breaches of the same law by Instagram.

Combined, the penalties amount to 390 million euros ($414 million).

The fines mark the conclusion of two lengthy investigations into Meta by the Irish regulator, which had been criticized over delays in the process. The DPC began investigating the company on May 25, 2018, the day the EU’s GDPR came into effect.

GDPR places strict requirements on firms with regard to the processing of people’s information.