Meta Fined €805m by Italy Over Facebook Photo Gallery Access

What changed

Italy’s Data Protection Authority fined Meta €805m over Facebook’s access to Android users’ photo galleries without specific consent. The feature suggested photos and videos from users’ phones as ideas for posts, affecting about 20 million people.

Meta must disable the feature by default and request separate consent within 60 days. The regulator said Facebook’s app-wide authorization did not clearly explain that it covered gallery-based suggestions, and cited the continuing exposure and Meta’s lack of cooperation.

Why it matters

This changes the default relationship between Facebook and the phone gallery. A user’s broad permission to let the app access photos will no longer be enough for this particular suggestion feature in Italy; Meta must ask again, more specifically.

That distinction matters because the feature was built into an everyday posting workflow. The ruling treats clarity at the moment of permission as part of privacy protection, not as fine print users are expected to decode later.

The practical effect of disabling the feature is not yet reported. Meta’s response, including whether it will appeal, is also unclear.