Meta fined $1.3bn over data transfer

The record fine slammed on Meta today isn't good news for the social media company, nor the rest of the internet for that matter. The basis of the ruling stems from the 'poor' safety of data transfers from Europe to the US. As such, this may open other tech firms such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft to further regulatory scrutiny. But what's more alarming is that this could open the floodgates to obstruct the free flow of data and hinder future technological progression for the many services we widely use today, which could subsequently end up restricting the global economy.

Given the fine can be up to 4% of global turnover, which for Meta was $117bn, a fine at 1% seems good value. It isn't the first time that Meta has been fined for GDPR failings, and sometimes fines are the only way to get big companies to listen. Meta says it will appeal and it may eventually result in them stopping services to the EU because they cannot or will not comply with the data laws. Why is that? It's because the EU has better and stronger consumer protection than the US and Meta wants to use your personal data how they see fit, rather than comply with the law in the EU.

The EU's fine, while large, is not the full amount it could have charged Meta. It's only 1.03% on the $116bn USD revenues for 2022. Maximum fines of 4% could have been imposed sending a very clear signal to companies but also a reminder to artificial intelligence companies that the same could happen to them with the upcoming AI regulation bill.

As an IT Service Provider, I have presented several workshops to accounting professionals and the AAT on GDPR. I don't believe Meta has been treated unfairly at all. The world was gently introduced to GDPR over many years, as the legislation evolved with the feedback from industries. Meta cannot argue they weren't aware of their boundaries under this legislation. We haven't seen many prosecutions in line with GDPR but we can expect larger organisations (such as META) who are storing vast amounts of personal data, to be under closer scrutiny than small organisations. I hope this will be a wake-up for many organisations who see GDPR as only guidelines, or nice to haves. We see many companies that still don't consider complying with GDPR a priority and allocate very few resources to ensuring they comply.