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Meta has been hit with a €390m fine (£343m) fine by regulators for forcing users to agree to personalised adverts.
The penalty has been handed out by Ireland’s data protection commissioner, which said the social media giant had breached EU privacy rules.
As well as the hefty fine, Meta has also been banned from forcing users to sign up to such ads.
The promotions are based on someone’s online activity, allowing advertisers to target those likely to be interested in their products and services.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has said it will appeal the fine and the substance of the ruling itself.
It added that the ruling would not prevent targeted or personalised advertising on its platforms, which include Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
The fine dwarfs a €225m (then £193m) penalty handed out by the Irish watchdog to WhatsApp in 2021, when the company was found to have broken regulations in relation to transparency of data shared with other Meta firms.