LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) Meta Platforms, is requesting that a Norwegian court halt the penalties that the Nordic nation’s data regulator levied on it for violating users’ privacy.
The Norwegian data protection authority informed Reuters on Monday that Meta Platforms will be penalized 1 million crowns ($97,700) every day starting on August 14 for privacy violations. This verdict may have wider European ramifications.
According to a court document, Meta Platforms is requesting a temporary injunction to stop the order. The petition will be submitted on August 22 at a two-day hearing.
Requests for feedback from Meta Platforms were not answered. An email seeking comment from the firm’s Norwegian attorney received no response right away.
Meta Platforms is attempting to avoid the enforcement of the penalties, according to the Norwegian data authority Datatilsynet.
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“They say that the court should put … a pause on our order, pending a full trial,” Tobias Judin, head of Datatilsynet’s international section told Reuters. “Datatilsynet will argue that there is no basis for an injunction.”
According to the regulator, Meta cannot gather user information in Norway, including users’ actual whereabouts, and use it to target them with behavioral advertising, a Big Tech-favored business model.
The penalty is in effect until 3 November. By bringing the matter to the European Data Protection Board, which has the authority to take such action if it concurs with Datatilsynet’s conclusion, Datatilsynet can make its decision permanent.
The decision’s territorial reach could also be expanded to include the whole of Europe as a result.