Dublin, Ireland- Instagram is planning on challenging a US$400 million lawsuit which was filed by the Irish government on the 2nd of September for breaking European Union (EU) data privacy laws.
According to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead regulator of Instagram, Facebook, Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL) and other technological giants, the investigation, which started in 2020, focused on child users between the ages of 13 and 17 who were allowed to operate business accounts, which facilitated the publication of the user’s phone number and/or email address.
However, Instagram’s parent company Meta, said the investigation focused on old settings that were updated over a year ago and said that it has since added several more features to improve the safety of young users.
“Anyone under 18 automatically has their account set to private when they join Instagram, so only people they know can see what they post, and adults can’t message teens who don’t follow them,” said Meta in a statement.
If the lawsuit sticks, it would be one of the largest fines to date under the General Data Protection Regulation, (G.D.P.R), a sweeping law enacted in 2018 to limit how companies collect and share people’s data.
Ireland is at the center of a number of battles related to Meta’s data collection practices, because Meta uses Ireland as its European headquarters, the country is tasked with policing the company’s compliance with G.D.P.R.
Last year, regulators fined Meta US$223 million for violations related to the messaging service WhatsApp. In March, the authorities fined the company US$17 million over a data breach.
Instagram has been under particular scrutiny in Europe and the United States (US) for its policies related to children, including how its recommendation algorithm affects body image and self-esteem.
European policymakers this year adopted additional rules related to children. In a new law called the Digital Services Act, companies are prohibited from using certain data to personalize advertising targeted at people under 18 years old.
Authorities in Europe and the US are now cracking down on what information is collected and shared by companies about young people online.
Policymakers are attempting to better safeguard children’s data generated on social media, online video games and other internet services. In the US, California State lawmakers last week, passed a law that would require many online services to increase protections for children, a similar law the United Kingdom (UK) passed last year.
