Meta fined $263 million for 6-year-old data breach that leaked 29 million Facebook accounts

The European Union’s data privacy authorities have imposed a $263 million fine on Meta, Facebook’s parent company, for a 2018 data breach that exposed millions of user accounts. The breach exploited vulnerabilities in Facebook’s code, allowing hackers to steal digital keys, or access tokens, that granted control over user accounts. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s lead privacy regulator within the EU, issued the penalty after a detailed investigation. The case underscores the EU’s commitment to enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one of the world’s strictest privacy laws. Meta plans to appeal the decision, maintaining that it acted swiftly and transparently to address the breach.