Italy fines Meta €805 million and orders separate consent for Facebook photo suggestions

Italy’s privacy watchdog announced an €805 million fine against Meta Platforms Ireland on Nov. 14 over Facebook’s gallery suggestions on Android. It ordered Meta to switch the feature off by default and request separate consent within 60 days, including for users who had already granted permission.

The order gives users in Italy a distinct choice about whether the app may show them photos or videos from their own phones as ideas for posts. That choice affects what Facebook can do in the background of ordinary browsing, before a user decides what to publish.

One gallery permission covered several uses

In July 2025 the Bolzano Consumer Protection Center published descriptions of two gallery settings and raised the issue with the Garante. One setting referred to suggested edits with effects or transitions. The other described photos and videos appearing while someone browsed Facebook, as ideas for what to share. The second was the feature examined in the case, and it dates to 2023.

The Garante found that broad wording asked for one app-wide permission that covered several purposes. Consider a user picking a photo to attach to a post. That choice concerns a specific picture the person intends to share. A feature that offers images spontaneously while the same person browses can draw on a much wider library. The permission found by the regulator could give the app access to photos, videos and related information.

Google’s documentation explains how Android 14 allows users to give an app access to selected images and videos. That option limits which files the app can read. The European Data Protection Board describes another element of informed consent: telling people what the data will be used for and giving them a separate choice when the purposes differ. For Facebook users affected by the order, the purpose at issue is the gallery recommendation that appears during browsing.

The scope of the decision on AI

The Garante said the case did not examine whether gallery content was used for AI training and that Meta denied such use. Italy’s privacy code implements the EU ePrivacy rules on accessing information stored on someone’s device. Article 122 includes exceptions for access strictly needed to provide a service the user explicitly requested and for the sole purpose of transmitting a communication. The Garante treated access for gallery suggestions as requiring consent regardless of any subsequent transfer of files.

In April Meta began offering a different feature in the EU and the UK. It said people could opt in to have the app analyse the photos or videos on their phone and generate suggestions such as edits and collages. Meta said users might find the results in Feed, Stories or Memories, with the choice of what to publish left to them. In June it announced AI editing options such as collages made from image cutouts and stylized video transitions. The Garante said the newer cloud processing could be examined separately.

In its April announcement, Meta said it keeps gallery material out of ad targeting. It also said it would use photos or videos from a camera roll to improve its AI only if the user published them or shared them in an interaction with one of its AI features. The policy describes how the company says it handles material in the newer product.

The authority took account of Italy’s roughly 20 million Android users when setting the amount. Its announcement gives that figure as a measure of scale, with no count of the files affected. Meta must explain in the app why it wants gallery access and how people can turn suggestions off. The announcement gives no design for the new consent screen or version number for an update.

Meta must report steps it has started within 30 days and measures taken within 90 days. The 60-day deadline bars activation without valid consent if Meta has yet to comply. The announcement does not give a calendar date for the start of those periods.