Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is asking a court in Norway to stop a fine of 1 million crowns (about $97,700) per day that the Nordic country’s data regulator imposed on the company for breaching users’ privacy.
The Norwegian data protection authority informed Reuters on Monday that Meta Platforms will be penalised 1 million crowns ($97,700) every day beginning on August 14 for privacy violations. This judgement may have wider European ramifications.
In a court document, Meta Platforms requests a temporary injunction to stop the order. During a two-day hearing, the petition will be presented on August 22.
A request for comment from Meta Platforms was not answered. A request for a response sent through email was not immediately answered by the firm’s Norwegian attorney.
Datatilsynet, the data protection authority in Norway, reported that Meta Platforms was attempting to block the imposition of the fine.
Tobias Judin, the head of Datatilsynet’s foreign division, told Reuters, “They say the court should put a pause on our order, pending a full trial.” Datatilsynet will claim there is no legal justification for an injunction.
The regulator has ruled that Meta cannot collect user information in Norway, including users’ actual whereabouts, and use it to target them with behavioural advertising, a Big Tech-favoured business model.
The penalty is valid until November 3. By sending it to the European Data Protection Board, which has the authority to do so if it concurs with the Norwegian regulator’s ruling, Datatilsynet can make its decision permanent.
Additionally, it might extend the decision’s geographic reach to the rest of Europe.
