Meta fined $400m over handling of children’s data

News in brief

Meta has been fined $402m (€405m) for its mishandling of children’s data on Instagram by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), according to reports.

It follows a two-year investigation into potential data breaches at Instagram, which found that the social media platform was allowing teenage users to operate business accounts, allowing their phone numbers and email addresses to be viewed.

Instagram intends to appeal the decision, per a report by Reuters.

Meta has come under scrutiny over its data practices and potential harmfulness to teen users in the past year following disclosures from Facebook whistleblower Francis Haugen.

In response, Instagram has attempted to institute new policies to make its platform safer for young users, including a recent update to its Sensitive Content Control policy to show less “potentially sensitive” content to under-16s by default.

Full details of the fine will be released by the DPC sometime next week.