Meta fined €390M over the legal basis for ads
€390M
≈ $421M at the time
Irish Data Protection Commission
Ireland / EU · 2023
Status: Under appeal
What happened
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.
How it affected users
Users had no genuine choice to refuse behavioural advertising while continuing to use the services.
Status timeline
Dec 31, 2022
Final decisions adopted: €210M for Facebook and €180M for Instagram.
Sep 21, 2026
The DPC's fines register lists the fines as pending appeal; DPC fines are not payable until confirmed by a court.
Sources
- Irish DPC: conclusion of two inquiries into Meta Ireland (€210M and €180M)regulator
- Irish DPC fines register: status of each DPC fineregulator
Last verified 2026-10-15. Spotted an error? Report a correction.
Cite this entry
Deepak Gupta, "Meta fined €390M over the legal basis for ads," Tech Fines Directory, guptadeepak.com, 2023-01-04. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-ireland-ads-legalbasis-2023/