Meta fined record $1.3 billion and ordered to stop sending European user data to US

LONDON (AP) — The European Union has slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine and ordered it to stop transferring user data across the Atlantic by October. The penalty released Monday (May 22, 2023) is the latest salvo in a decadelong case sparked by U.S. cybersnooping fears. Meta, which had previously warned that services for its users in Europe could be cut off, vowed to appeal and ask courts to immediately put the decision on hold. The legal battle began in 2013 when Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems filed a complaint about Facebook’s handling of his data following former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of electronic surveillance by U.S. security agencies.