Instagram fined €405 million for violating children’s privacy

The European Union’s privacy regulators have fined Meta-owned social media platform, Instagram, €405 million due to its mishandling of children’s data. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has a general expectation of privacy, and this expectation is heightened when it comes to the protection of children’s data. 

In September 2020, users filed complaints after Instagram leaked the contact information of minors, by letting them set up business accounts which, by default, made their contact information public. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) then formally opened an inquiry into Instagram’s management of minors’ data.

The full report on the inquiry has not yet been released to the public, but the size of the financial penalty was leaked early, via a report in Politico. A spokesperson from the DPC has confirmed that the amount of the fine is correct. 

Instagram plans to appeal against the fine. In a statement, Meta points out that Instagram updated its settings over a year ago, and has since released new features to keep teenagers safe and their information private.