TL;DR
Italy’s data protection authority fined Meta Platforms Ireland €805 million over a Facebook feature on Android that suggested photos and videos from users’ phone galleries. The regulator said gallery access was bundled into a general app permission and the feature was on by default; Meta plans to appeal.
Italy’s data protection authority has fined Meta Platforms Ireland Limited €805 million over a Facebook feature on Android that suggested photos and videos from users’ phone galleries, saying the company did not obtain specific consent or adequately explain the access. The regulator ordered Meta to keep the feature off by default and request separate consent; Meta said it will appeal.
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The case concerns Facebook’s “Get tips from your gallery while browsing Facebook” feature, available since 2023. The Italian authority, known as the Garante, said it found that the feature was active by default and that gallery access was covered by a permission applying to the whole app and multiple functions. A generic notice referring to enabling other features appeared before the permission request, the regulator said.
According to the Garante, a fully granted permission could allow Facebook to read the entire photo archive on a device, usually on an ongoing basis. The authority said users were not adequately told that they were authorizing gallery suggestions. It said about 20 million Android users in Italy were involved. The investigation began in July 2025 following a report by the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center and included technical analysis by the regulator.
The Garante ordered Meta, within 60 days, to ask users for separate, specific consent and to leave the feature off by default, including for people who had already granted the app permission. Meta must report within 30 days on steps it has begun and within 90 days on actions taken. The regulator said the fine amounts to about 0.47% of Meta’s global revenue. Its full decision was not yet published on its website as of 21:27 UTC on November 14, according to the source report.
Consent Rules for Phone Galleries
The ruling concerns how Facebook requested Android users’ permission to access gallery content for photo and video suggestions. The Garante said a broad app permission and a general notice did not adequately explain that gallery access would be used for this feature. The order requires a separate choice for this feature and a default setting that does not activate it.
The order applies to the feature and conduct described in the Garante’s decision. It requires Meta to change the feature’s consent request and default setting in Italy, including for users who had already approved the broader Android permission.
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How the Gallery Feature Was Reviewed
The Garante said Facebook had offered the gallery suggestion feature on Android since 2023. It began investigating in July 2025 after receiving a report from the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center, then conducted technical analysis. The regulator said the case falls under Article 122 of Italy’s Privacy Code, which implements the EU ePrivacy Directive.
The authority described that provision as requiring free and informed consent for access to information on a device. The source report compared the new fine with a €1 million penalty against Facebook in 2019 related to Cambridge Analytica, imposed under Italy’s former privacy code. That comparison provides historical scale, but the cases concern different conduct and legal circumstances.
The Garante’s announcement was dated November 14, 2026 and included an English version of its press release. The source report said the full decision was not yet available online at its last check. Meta characterized the penalty as disproportionate, according to Reuters, and said it would challenge it.
““access to the gallery is requested with a single permission, valid for the entire app and for multiple functions with different need””
— Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante
Appeal and AI Use Remain Open
The full written decision was not available on the Garante’s website at the time cited in the source report. That limits what can be confirmed about the regulator’s complete reasoning and the precise basis for calculating the penalty. Meta’s appeal may challenge the decision, but the timing and grounds of any filing were not provided.
The case does not determine whether gallery content was used to train artificial intelligence systems. The source report says Meta denies such use. It also notes that a separate feature launched in 2026 processes gallery content in the cloud and may be assessed separately; the Garante had not announced a finding on that feature in the material provided.
Meta’s Appeal and Compliance Deadlines
Meta is expected to appeal the fine, though the source material does not give a filing date or describe the arguments it plans to make. The Garante’s order sets the first compliance deadline at 60 days for a specific consent request and an off-by-default setting. Meta must also report to the regulator within 30 days on work started and within 90 days on what it has done.
Publication of the full decision would provide more detail on the legal reasoning and the regulator’s assessment. The separate question of how the 2026 cloud-processing feature handles gallery material remains outside the announced ruling and could be considered on its own.
Key Questions
Why did Italy fine Meta?
The Garante said Facebook’s Android gallery suggestion feature accessed photos and videos without specific consent and without adequate information. It also said the feature was on by default and gallery access was covered by a permission for the broader app.
What changes did the regulator order?
Within 60 days, Meta must keep the feature off by default and ask for separate, specific consent, including from users who previously granted the app permission. The company also has 30- and 90-day reporting deadlines.
Will Meta challenge the fine?
Yes. Meta said it would appeal and called the fine “disproportionate,” according to Reuters. The source material does not state when it will file or what arguments it will make.
Did the ruling find that Facebook used photos to train AI?
No such finding is described in the announced case. The source report says Meta denies using the gallery content for AI training and says a separate cloud-processing feature launched in 2026 may be assessed separately.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
