Italy Fines Meta $887 Million After Facebook Accessed Android Photo Galleries

Italy's data protection authority has fined Meta Platforms €805 million ($887 million) after finding Facebook accessed Android users' photographs and videos without their specific consent — one of the largest penalties ever imposed by an Italian regulator on a technology company.

Key Points

• Italy's Garante announced on Saturday, 14 November 2026, that it fined Meta €805 million ($887 million) over Facebook's access to Android users' photo and video galleries.
• The case centres on a Facebook feature, available since 2023, that suggests photos and videos from a user's gallery as post ideas while they browse Facebook — switched on by default.
• About 20 million Android users in Italy were affected by the feature, which the Garante found ran without users' specific consent and without properly informing them.
• Meta has 60 days to switch the feature off by default and to seek separate, specific consent from users before it can suggest gallery content again.
• Meta says it will appeal and called the penalty "disproportionate"; the fine equals about 0.47% of the company's global revenue.

What Happened

The Garante announced the fine on Saturday, 14 November 2026, closing an investigation that began in 2025 after a complaint from a consumer group in Bolzano, northern Italy. Its finding was blunt: for years, the Facebook app on Android phones had reached into users' personal photo and video galleries without the specific permission the law requires, and without properly explaining what it was doing.

At the centre of the case is a feature Facebook introduced in 2023. While a person browses Facebook, the app suggests photographs and videos stored on their phone as ideas for posts — family photos, screenshots, videos never meant to be shared, drawn directly from the personal gallery. The feature was enabled by default, so millions had it running without ever choosing it.

The Garante said about 20 million Android users in Italy were affected. Under Europe's privacy rules, accessing something as personal as a photo gallery needs consent that is specific and informed — a clear yes to a clearly explained use. The regulator found Facebook had neither, and has ordered Meta to switch the feature off by default within 60 days and seek separate, specific consent before turning it back on.

Background and Context

The Garante is Italy's independent privacy regulator, and its decisions carry weight beyond Italy because they interpret the same European privacy law — the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR — that governs every company operating in the European Union. Under the GDPR, consent must be freely given, specific and informed. A feature switched on by default, quietly drawing on a phone's photo library, fails that test, in the regulator's view.

The investigation began in 2025, after a consumer group in Bolzano complained about the gallery feature. Regulators spent more than a year examining how it worked, what it accessed and what users were told. The case is part of a wider European push to hold large technology companies to the GDPR's consent rules, and the penalty's size signals regulators will fine at scale when a default setting affects tens of millions.

The investigation did not examine whether the gallery content was used to train artificial intelligence models. Meta denies that it was, and the Garante has reserved the right to assess separately a newer feature, introduced in 2026, that processes gallery content in the cloud.

Italy Fines Meta $887 Million Over Facebook Gallery Access

The €805 million figure converts to about $887 million, roughly 0.47% of Meta's global revenue. That is far below the GDPR maximum — fines can reach 4% of worldwide annual turnover — but it is still one of the biggest penalties an Italian regulator has ever imposed on a technology company, and it lands on a business built on users sharing photos and videos.

The practical order matters as much as the money. Within 60 days, Meta must make the feature opt-in rather than opt-out for Italian users, and ask for separate, specific consent — a distinct permission for this use, not one buried in general terms. To switch it back on, Meta must persuade users to choose it themselves.

Reactions and Quotes

Meta said it will appeal and called the penalty "disproportionate". The company has not said when it will file. Any appeal would be heard in the Italian courts and could take months, and it would not automatically pause the 60-day deadline.

Meta also denies the gallery content was used to train its artificial intelligence models, a question the investigation did not cover. The Garante has kept that door open, reserving the right to assess separately the newer 2026 feature that processes gallery content in the cloud — a sign Meta's handling of users' photos could face further scrutiny.

Why It Matters

The case matters because it is about a default. Twenty million people in one country had a feature on their phones that dipped into their most personal files — family photographs, private videos, images never intended for Facebook — without ever being asked. For most users, a default setting is the setting they live with. When the default is "on", the choice has been made for them.

The ruling also lands in a year of heavy scrutiny over how big technology companies handle personal data. Meta has faced questions over its treatment of younger users, after Bloomberg reported that it and TikTok paid teenagers millions in secret settlements. And the industry's data problems are not limited to Meta: thousands of Uber drivers recently had their licence data stolen in a breach at an AI company. For users, the message is the same.

What Happens Next

The clock is now running. Meta has 60 days to switch the feature off by default for users in Italy and put a separate consent request in place. Users who want it will have to opt in.

The Garante's separate assessment of the 2026 cloud-processing feature is the next thing to watch. If it finds further problems, Meta could face a second order — and a second fine. For users in Italy, the advice is simple: check the Facebook app's settings for gallery suggestions and decide for yourself whether the feature should be on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Italy fine Meta?
The Garante found Facebook accessed Android users' photo and video galleries without specific consent or proper information, through a feature switched on by default since 2023.

How much is the fine?
€805 million, about $887 million — roughly 0.47% of Meta's global revenue, and one of the largest fines an Italian authority has imposed on a technology company.

How many people were affected?
About 20 million Android users in Italy had the gallery-suggestion feature running on their phones.

What must Meta do now?
Within 60 days, Meta must switch it off by default and seek separate, specific consent before suggesting gallery content again.

Will Meta appeal, and was the data used for AI?
Meta says it will appeal and called the penalty "disproportionate". The investigation did not cover whether gallery content trained AI models — Meta denies it — and the Garante may assess the newer 2026 cloud feature separately.