Finalfine · GDPR
Meta fined €390M over the legal basis for ads
€390M
≈ $421M at the time
Irish Data Protection Commission
Ireland / EU · 2023
Status: Final
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
Jan 4, 2023
Penalty announced.
Sources
- Irish DPC press releasesregulator
Last verified 2026-07-02. 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/