Meta Has Run Into Legal Trouble In Italy.
Meta has run into legal trouble in Italy; Rome has issued the tech giant with a fine after accusing the company of accessing users' private media galleries without their consent. GETTY IMAGES

The Italian data protection agency announced on Saturday that it would fine tech giant Meta a total of €805 ‌million ($887 million), alleging that the company had accessed its Android users' photographs or videos without the users' consent or knowledge.

"Through the Facebook app for Android devices, the company accessed photos, videos, and related metadata stored on Italian users' smartphones without obtaining specific consent and without adequately informing them," the Italian Data Protection Agency (GPDP) said in a statement on Saturday.

The Italian authorities found that Meta had accessed the private images and videos through a Facebook feature - the "Camera Roll Sharing Suggestions" tool - which, using media from a user's personal gallery, recommends content for posting.

GPDP's investigation, which began in mid-2025, found that "access to the gallery is requested with a single permission, valid for the entire app and for multiple functions with different needs."

"The permission is preceded by a generic warning ("enable other functions") that does not allow the user to understand that they are also authorizing gallery suggestions ... the feature was set to enabled by default. If granted in full, this type of permission allows the app to read the device's entire photo archive, usually permanently, without the user or the authorities being able to verify which information is actually being used," the Italian agency claimed.

This apparent transgression of privacy violated Article 122 of the Italian Privacy Code, which "imposes a general prohibition on the storage of and access to information on the user's terminal." Access to such information on a smartphone, according to the GPDP, "requires free and informed consent."

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The fine was calculated taking multiple factors into consideration, including Meta's reported lack of cooperation with the investigation, the number of users affected (which numbered in the millions) and the "duration of the violation." The amount adds up to about 0.47% of Meta's total global revenue, GPDP added.

The Italian authorities are now calling on Meta to, within 60 days, disable the feature by default and then seek users' specific consent for the tool separately. The company has also been instructed to ensure that, after the 60 days have expired, the tool cannot be activated for users who have not given their explicit permission.

Meta has not yet commented on the matter. The company has faced legal issues in the European country before; several Italian families brought a lawsuit against Meta and Tiktok over the alleged "risk of biological and psychological harm to minors" which the social media platforms owned by the companies (Instagram and Facebook in Meta's case) pose.

In that case Meta has denied the allegations and claimed that it has implemented measures to safeguard children. The final hearing on that particular class action will take place in the northern Italian city of Milan on November 19.