Meta fined USD 403M over kid's privacy issue on Instagram!

Ireland's data watchdog gave Meta a 405M euro or USD 403M fine for failing to safeguard children's information on Instagram.

File photo: Logo of Meta

Is Instagram exposing teens' data?

The Irish DPC acts as the EU's regulator for multiple US tech giants including Meta since its headquarters are based in the country. 

According to sources, the  DPC discovered the accounts of 13 to 17-year-olds were set to "public" as their default setting.

Moreover, the app allegedly allows children to operate business accounts on the platform. Instagram business accounts show the account holder's phone number and email address, meaning that data was exposed.

A DPC spokesperson told a source that full details of the ruling will be published next week.

Meanwhile, the company confirmed the sanction and said it declared that it plans to appeal the decision. A spokesperson from Meta explained,

This inquiry focused on old settings that we updated over a year ago, and we've since released many new features to help keep teens safe and their information private. 

Allegedly, Instagram users under the age of 18 automatically have their accounts set to "private" rather than "public." The spokesperson added that adult users can't privately message users under 18 unless they follow the adult's account.

Meta also claimed that they have been fully cooperative with the DPC in answering their questions. The company did not agree on how the find was calculated and intends to appeal.

Reportedly, the USD 400-million penalty would be the second-largest issued to a tech company for a violation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, with Amazon's record-setting USD 888 million fine in 2021.

Sources: New York Times, Business Insider