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TL;DR
Italy’s data protection authority fined Meta Platforms Ireland €805 million over Facebook’s Android feature that suggests photos from users’ phone galleries. The Garante said the feature was on by default and the app did not obtain specific consent; Meta plans to appeal. The decision did not determine whether gallery content was used to train AI.
Italy’s data protection authority fined Meta Platforms Ireland Limited €805 million on November 14 over Facebook’s Android feature that suggests photos and videos from a user’s phone gallery while browsing. The Garante said the feature accessed gallery content without specific, informed consent, and ordered Meta to change how it requests permission and to keep the feature off by default.
The case concerns Facebook’s “Get tips from your gallery while browsing Facebook” feature, available since 2023. It shows users photos and videos stored on their Android phones as suggestions for posts. According to the Garante, the app relied on one system permission that covered multiple functions, rather than asking separately for gallery suggestions. A generic notice referring to enabling other features came before the permission request, the regulator said, and the feature was active by default.
The authority said that, when granted, the permission could let Facebook read a device’s entire photo archive, usually on an ongoing basis. Its concern was not a reported hack or data leak, but whether users had freely and clearly agreed to this particular access. The Garante cited Article 122 of Italy’s Privacy Code, which implements the EU ePrivacy Directive, and said the rule protects information held on smartphones regardless of whether data is transmitted or harm is shown.
The regulator ordered Meta to seek separate, specific consent that explains the feature, its gallery access and how to turn it off. Meta must also keep it disabled by default, including for users who previously granted the system-level permission. The Garante set a 60-day deadline for those changes, a 30-day deadline for Meta to report what it had started, and a 90-day deadline for a report on measures taken.
Meta told Reuters it would appeal. A company spokesperson called the fine “disproportionate,” Reuters reported. The Garante said it considered changes Meta made after the complaint, but described them as late and limited to users who updated the app.
Italy vs. Meta · decision of Nov 14, 2026
One permission, a whole gallery, a record fine
How the Facebook app for Android reached users’ photos, according to Italy’s data protection authority, and what Meta must change.
Phone gallery and app (schematic)
Suggestions from your gallerywhile you browse Facebook, available since 2023 Fully granted: the entire photo archive“usually permanently”, the Garante says Within 60 days: off by defaultand a separate, specific consent request
What the Garante found and ordered
- Since 2023“Get tips from your gallery while browsing Facebook” on Androidfeature
- 1 permissionfor the entire app and several functions, after a generic notice (“enable other features”)Garante finding
- On by defaultthe feature “was set to be active by default”Garante finding
- Whole gallerya fully granted permission lets the app read the entire photo archive, usually permanentlyGarante finding
- July 2025Bolzano Consumer Protection Center report; investigation with technical analysisinvestigation
- Nov 14, 2026Fine; within 60 days: separate consent, off by default, also for people who already allowed itdecision (Meta will appeal)
Source: Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, press release doc. web no. 10321080 (Italian with English version), Rome, Nov 14, 2026; Meta’s appeal as reported by Reuters. The full decision was not yet published. The phone and app picture is a schematic, not the real app.
Graphic: Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
Consent Rules Reach Phone Galleries
The Garante’s decision addresses whether a device permission that covers multiple functions provides adequate consent for a specific app feature. The authority said permission to access a phone’s gallery must be specific to the use, rather than inferred from a broad prompt or an app-wide setting.
The order requires Meta to keep gallery suggestions off by default for Facebook users covered by the Italian proceeding, including users who previously granted Android permission. Meta must present a distinct consent request and provide a way to disable the feature. The full decision will be needed to assess the authority’s reasoning and the order’s scope in detail.
The Garante said about 20 million Android users in Italy were involved. It cited the duration of the conduct, an earlier ruling against Meta and limited cooperation when setting the fine, while also taking post-complaint changes into account. The decision is not a finding of a data breach and does not establish that users’ photos were used for a purpose beyond the feature described by the authority.
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How the Italian Case Began
The Garante said its investigation began in July 2025, following a report from the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center, known in Italian as Centro Tutela Consumatori Utenti. The authority said it carried out its own technical analysis. The decision addresses a feature that presents gallery items as posting suggestions while a person browses Facebook on Android.
Meta argued that Italy was not the appropriate regulator and that the case should be handled by Ireland’s authority. The Garante rejected that argument, saying the ePrivacy rules at issue do not use the EU’s “one-stop shop” mechanism. The authority’s press release announcing the fine was dated Rome, November 14, 2026. At the time of the source report’s final check, at 21:27 UTC, the full decision was not yet available on the Garante’s website.
The Garante compared the case with its 2019 Facebook fine of €1 million in connection with Cambridge Analytica, imposed under Italy’s former privacy code. It said the current penalty amounts to about 0.47% of Meta group global revenue. These figures provide the regulator’s stated scale and comparison; the 2019 case involved different conduct and a different legal framework.
Appeal and AI Use Remain Open
Meta says it will appeal, but the available source material does not state when an appeal will be filed, which court or process will hear it, or whether the fine’s enforcement will be paused. The full decision was not yet posted on the Garante’s site at the time of the source report’s last check, leaving the authority’s complete legal reasoning and the detailed calculation of the penalty unavailable for review.
The case did not decide whether gallery content was used to train AI. Meta denies such use, according to the source material. A separate feature launched in 2026 that processes gallery content in the cloud may be assessed independently; it is not covered by the described finding. The source material also notes a difference between the English and Italian versions of the regulator’s release about which users remain affected. The order itself says the feature must be off by default even for people who previously granted system permission.
Deadlines and Appeal Process
Meta is required to report within 30 days on steps it has begun and within 90 days on measures taken. Within 60 days, it must provide a separate, clear consent request and keep the feature off by default, including for users who already gave Android permission. The Garante said that if the deadline passes without compliance, the feature cannot be activated for users who have not given valid consent.
The next major development is Meta’s appeal and publication of the full decision. Those could clarify the legal arguments, the penalty’s calculation and how the order will be applied in practice. Any examination of the separate cloud-based gallery feature or questions about AI training would be distinct from the findings announced in this case.
Key Questions
What did Italy fine Meta for?
The Garante fined Meta Platforms Ireland €805 million over Facebook’s Android feature that suggests photos and videos from a user’s phone gallery. The authority said the feature lacked specific, informed consent and was on by default.
What must Meta change?
Within 60 days, Meta must ask separately for consent to the gallery-suggestion feature, explain the gallery access and how to disable it, and keep the feature off by default, including for users who previously granted system permission.
Did the case find that Facebook used photos to train AI?
No. The case described in the regulator’s announcement did not determine whether gallery content was used to train AI. The source material says Meta denies such use, and a separate 2026 cloud-processing feature may be considered independently.
Will Meta challenge the fine?
Yes. Meta said it will appeal. A spokesperson called the penalty “disproportionate,” according to Reuters. The available information does not specify the appeal timetable or its effect on enforcement.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
