Italy fines Meta about $880 million over Facebook's access to Android users' photos

Italy's data protection authority fined Meta roughly $880 million (805 million euros) on Saturday for accessing Android users' photos and videos through Facebook without specific consent. The regulator gave the company 60 days to disable the feature and seek separate permission, and Meta may appeal.

The authority said the feature, “Get suggestions from gallery when browsing Facebook,” was enabled by default. It said the app requested gallery access through a single permission covering several functions with different purposes. Meta accessed photographs, videos and related metadata “without obtaining specific consent and without properly informing them,” the authority said. Italy has about 20 million Android users. The fine, about 0.47% of Meta's global revenue, was imposed on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, which challenged Italy's jurisdiction. The authority said the company's lack of cooperation factored into the penalty. The investigation began in July 2025 after a consumer protection group's complaint, and the feature dates to 2023. Meta had not responded to a request for comment.

CBS News leads with the size of the fine and places it in context: it is among the largest Italy has imposed on a tech company, next to Amazon's 2021 penalty, and follows a $25 billion New Mexico order against Meta. The Los Angeles Times leads with the feature's mechanics, including default activation, the single permission, the 60-day deadline, the 20 million Android users and the cooperation finding. The two also give different dollar totals: CBS says $880 million, the Times $887 million. Right-leaning outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing. Among independent outlets, TRT World largely matches CBS's wording but adds the 2023 launch and the July 2025 start of the investigation, while The Hill uses the $887 million figure.