Official press releases from Meta or credible news coverage

Meta Fined €251 Million by Irish DPC for 2018 Data Breach Affecting 29 Million Users

Dec 17, 2024, 02:33 PM

Meta Platforms Inc. has been fined €251 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for a significant data breach that occurred in 2018, affecting approximately 29 million Facebook users globally, including 3 million in the European Union and European Economic Area. The breach involved hackers exploiting bugs in the 'View As' feature of the platform, which allowed them to steal access tokens and gain unauthorized access to personal data such as full names, email addresses, phone numbers, locations, dates of birth, and other sensitive information. The DPC found that Meta violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in several ways, including underreporting the breach and failing to ensure adequate data protection during system design. Meta has stated its intention to appeal the decision, claiming it took immediate action to address the issue upon discovery.