https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/ Tech Fines is a neutral, accuracy-first directory of the major fines, penalties, and settlements imposed on large technology companies, including Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI, and TikTok, across privacy, antitrust, and consumer-protection law from 2004 to today. Every entry records the amount in its original currency, the regulator and law, what happened, how it affected ordinary users, the current appeal status, and primary sources. en 2026-07-02T00:00:00Z https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-us-prime-darkpatterns-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-us-prime-darkpatterns-2025/ 2025-09-25T00:00:00Z Amazon US Federal Trade Commission $2.5B settlement. The FTC settled claims that Amazon tricked consumers into enrolling in Prime through deceptive sign-up flows and made cancellation deliberately difficult, an internal process nicknamed Iliad. The settlement comprised a $1B civil penalty and $1.5B in refunds to about 35 million customers. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-eu-adtech-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-eu-adtech-2025/ 2025-09-05T00:00:00Z Google European Commission €3B fine. The Commission found that Google abused its dominance across the advertising-technology stack by favouring its own ad exchange (AdX) in both its publisher ad server and its ad-buying tools, a conflict of interest across the chain. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-cookies-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-cookies-2025/ 2025-09-03T00:00:00Z Google CNIL €325M fine. The CNIL's largest cookie penalty against Google covered advertising inserted directly into Gmail inboxes without consent, alongside continued cookie-consent failures. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-us-texas-biometric-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-us-texas-biometric-2025/ 2025-05-09T00:00:00Z Google Texas Attorney General $1.4B settlement. Texas settled claims that Google unlawfully captured biometric data such as face and voice identifiers and made misleading claims about Incognito mode and location tracking. It is one of the largest single-state privacy settlements on record. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/tiktok-ireland-datatransfers-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/tiktok-ireland-datatransfers-2025/ 2025-05-02T00:00:00Z TikTok Irish Data Protection Commission €530M fine. The Irish DPC fined TikTok for unlawfully transferring EU users' data to China without ensuring equivalent protection, and for related transparency failures. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-eu-dma-payorconsent-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-eu-dma-payorconsent-2025/ 2025-04-23T00:00:00Z Meta European Commission €200M fine. In one of the first Digital Markets Act fines, the Commission found that Meta's pay-or-consent model forced Facebook and Instagram users to either pay a subscription or accept full data combination for personalised ads, without a genuine less-data alternative. Meta adjusted the model after the decision. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-eu-dma-appstore-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-eu-dma-appstore-2025/ 2025-04-23T00:00:00Z Apple European Commission €500M fine. In the first Digital Markets Act fine against Apple, the Commission found that Apple prevented developers from freely informing users about, and directing them to, cheaper purchasing options outside the App Store. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-france-att-2025/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-france-att-2025/ 2025-03-31T00:00:00Z Apple Autorité de la concurrence €150M fine. France's competition authority found that Apple's App Tracking Transparency consent design over-burdened third-party apps while Apple's own advertising faced lighter requirements, an abuse of its dominant position. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/openai-italy-garante-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/openai-italy-garante-2024/ 2024-12-20T00:00:00Z OpenAI Garante per la protezione dei dati personali €15M fine. Italy's Garante alleged that ChatGPT was trained on personal data without an adequate legal basis, failed transparency obligations, did not report a March 2023 breach, and lacked age verification for minors. In March 2026 the Court of Rome annulled the fine on procedural grounds, not because the practices were ruled lawful. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-eu-marketplace-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-eu-marketplace-2024/ 2024-11-14T00:00:00Z Meta European Commission €797.7M fine. The European Commission found that Meta tied Facebook Marketplace to its social network and imposed unfair conditions on rival online-classifieds services. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-southkorea-pipc-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-southkorea-pipc-2024/ 2024-11-05T00:00:00Z Meta Personal Information Protection Commission ₩21.6B fine. South Korea's PIPC fined Meta for collecting sensitive data, including religion, political views, and sexual orientation, on roughly 980,000 users for advertising without consent. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/microsoft-ireland-linkedin-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/microsoft-ireland-linkedin-2024/ 2024-10-24T00:00:00Z Microsoft Irish Data Protection Commission €310M fine. The Irish DPC found that LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, processed members' personal data for behavioural advertising without a valid legal basis and without adequate transparency. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/uber-netherlands-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/uber-netherlands-2024/ 2024-08-26T00:00:00Z Uber Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens €290M fine. The Dutch data-protection authority fined Uber for transferring EU drivers' personal data, including identity documents and criminal and health data, to the US without adequate safeguards. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-us-texas-biometric-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-us-texas-biometric-2024/ 2024-07-30T00:00:00Z Meta Texas Attorney General $1.4B settlement. Texas settled claims that Meta captured facial-recognition data of millions of Texans through photo tag suggestions without consent, in violation of Texas biometric law. It was the largest single-state privacy settlement at the time. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-eu-music-antisteering-2024/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-eu-music-antisteering-2024/ 2024-03-04T00:00:00Z Apple European Commission €1.8B fine. Following a Spotify complaint, the Commission found that Apple banned music apps from telling iPhone users about cheaper subscription options available outside the App Store. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-us-play-2023/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-us-play-2023/ 2023-12-18T00:00:00Z Google US State Attorneys General $700M settlement. All 50 states settled antitrust claims over Play Store billing restrictions and deals that limited rival app stores. Of the total, $630M went to a consumer fund and $70M to the states. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/tiktok-ireland-children-2023/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/tiktok-ireland-children-2023/ 2023-09-15T00:00:00Z TikTok Irish Data Protection Commission €345M fine. The Irish DPC found that TikTok set children's accounts to public by default and had weak age-assurance safeguards, exposing young users' content. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-us-alexa-coppa-2023/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-us-alexa-coppa-2023/ 2023-05-31T00:00:00Z Amazon US Federal Trade Commission $25M settlement. The FTC settled claims that Amazon kept children's Alexa voice recordings indefinitely, against COPPA and parents' deletion requests. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-us-ring-2023/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-us-ring-2023/ 2023-05-31T00:00:00Z Amazon US Federal Trade Commission $5.8M settlement. The FTC settled claims that Ring employees and contractors improperly accessed customers' home camera videos, and that lax security allowed outside access. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-eu-data-transfers-2023/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-eu-data-transfers-2023/ 2023-05-22T00:00:00Z Meta Irish Data Protection Commission €1.2B fine. The Irish DPC fined Meta for continuing to transfer EU users' personal data to US servers after the Schrems II ruling, exposing that data to potential US surveillance without adequate safeguards. It is the largest GDPR fine ever issued. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-ads-legalbasis-2023/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-ads-legalbasis-2023/ 2023-01-04T00:00:00Z Meta Irish Data Protection Commission €390M fine. The DPC found that Facebook (€210M) and Instagram (€180M) relied on a terms-of-service contract, rather than valid consent, to justify personalised advertising. The decision forced a change in how Meta seeks a legal basis for ads. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/microsoft-france-bing-cookies-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/microsoft-france-bing-cookies-2022/ 2022-12-22T00:00:00Z Microsoft CNIL €60M fine. The CNIL fined Microsoft for depositing advertising cookies on bing.com without consent and for making it harder to refuse cookies than to accept them. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-scraping-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-scraping-2022/ 2022-11-25T00:00:00Z Meta Irish Data Protection Commission €265M fine. The DPC found that design failures allowed the scraping of roughly 533 million users' phone numbers and personal details, which were later leaked online. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-us-location-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-us-location-2022/ 2022-11-14T00:00:00Z Google US State Attorneys General $391.5M settlement. Forty US states settled claims that Google misled users into believing location tracking was off while it kept collecting location data through other settings such as Web & App Activity. It was the largest multistate privacy settlement at the time. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-india-play-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-india-play-2022/ 2022-10-25T00:00:00Z Google Competition Commission of India ₹9.4B fine. In a companion decision, the CCI fined Google for forcing app developers to use Google Play Billing and its associated commission. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-india-android-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-india-android-2022/ 2022-10-20T00:00:00Z Google Competition Commission of India ₹13.4B fine. The Competition Commission of India fined Google for abusing Android's dominance through forced pre-installs and anti-forking restrictions on device makers. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-instagram-children-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-instagram-children-2022/ 2022-09-05T00:00:00Z Meta Irish Data Protection Commission €405M fine. The DPC found that Instagram business accounts publicly exposed children's phone numbers and email addresses by default. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/didi-china-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/didi-china-2022/ 2022-07-21T00:00:00Z Didi Cyberspace Administration of China ¥8B fine. The Cyberspace Administration of China imposed a sweeping penalty on Didi for extensive data-security and personal-information violations following a year-long investigation. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-russia-content-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-russia-content-2022/ 2022-07-18T00:00:00Z Google Roskomnadzor ₽21.1B fine. Russia imposed a turnover-based fine on Google for repeatedly failing to delete content the government deemed banned, following an earlier 2021 penalty. Enforcement and collection were complicated after 2022, and the amounts are largely uncollected in practice. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/x-us-ftc-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/x-us-ftc-2022/ 2022-05-25T00:00:00Z X (Twitter) US Federal Trade Commission $150M settlement. The FTC and DOJ penalised Twitter, now X, for using phone numbers and email addresses collected for account security, such as two-factor authentication, to target advertising. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-netherlands-dating-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/apple-netherlands-dating-2022/ 2022-03-21T00:00:00Z Apple Authority for Consumers and Markets €50M periodic-penalty. The Dutch ACM levied ten consecutive weekly penalties of €5M after Apple repeatedly failed to comply with an order to let dating apps use alternative payment systems. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-breach-2022/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-breach-2022/ 2022-03-15T00:00:00Z Meta Irish Data Protection Commission €17M fine. The DPC fined Meta over a series of twelve data breaches in 2018, finding it had failed to have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-cookies-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-cookies-2021/ 2022-01-06T00:00:00Z Google CNIL €150M fine. The CNIL found that Google made refusing cookies far harder than accepting them, a dark-pattern design that did not amount to valid consent. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-italy-logistics-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-italy-logistics-2021/ 2021-12-09T00:00:00Z Amazon Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato €1.1B fine. Italy's AGCM found that Amazon tied key seller benefits, such as the Prime badge and better visibility, to using its own logistics service (FBA), disadvantaging rival logistics providers. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-southkorea-android-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-southkorea-android-2021/ 2021-09-14T00:00:00Z Google Korea Fair Trade Commission ₩207.4B fine. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission fined Google for blocking device makers from using customised (forked) versions of Android. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-whatsapp-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-whatsapp-2021/ 2021-09-02T00:00:00Z Meta Irish Data Protection Commission €225M fine. The DPC found that WhatsApp failed to properly explain to users and non-users how their data was processed and shared with other Meta companies. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-luxembourg-gdpr-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/amazon-luxembourg-gdpr-2021/ 2021-07-16T00:00:00Z Amazon Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Données €746M fine. Luxembourg's CNPD fined Amazon for processing personal data for behavioural advertising without valid consent. It was the largest GDPR fine at the time and has been under appeal since. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-news-copyright-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-news-copyright-2021/ 2021-07-13T00:00:00Z Google Autorité de la concurrence €500M fine. France's competition authority fined Google for failing to negotiate in good faith with news publishers over payment for news snippets under the EU's neighbouring-rights rules. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-adtech-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/google-france-adtech-2021/ 2021-06-07T00:00:00Z Google Autorité de la concurrence €220M fine. France's competition authority found that Google favoured its own ad server and ad exchange in online display advertising, and accepted binding commitments alongside the fine. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-us-illinois-bipa-2021/ https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-us-illinois-bipa-2021/ 2021-02-26T00:00:00Z Meta Illinois State Court $650M class-action. A class-action settlement resolved claims that Facebook's tag-suggestion faceprinting violated Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. Roughly 1.6 million Illinois users received payouts.