Italy's data protection authority has fined Meta Platforms Ireland €805 million for accessing photos, videos and metadata stored on Facebook users' smartphones without separate consent and proper notification. for completeness. This was mentioned in the message of the regulatory body. The decision applies to Android users in Italy. It's about Facebook's "Get suggestions from gallery while browsing Facebook" feature launched in 2023. It offers users photos and videos from their smartphone gallery as posting materials. The investigation began in July 2025, following a complaint from the Bolzano Center for the Protection of Consumer Rights. During the inspection, the regulator found that the app was asking for a single permission to access the gallery for several functions with different purposes. Moreover, users were shown a general notification about the need to "enable additional features", from which it was not possible to understand that the permission would enable the photos and videos to be used in accordance for recommendations. Also, the feature was enabled by default. After receiving permission, the application could read the entire archive of photos stored on the device, and access, as a rule, was preserved permanently. At the same time, neither the user nor the regulatory authority could verify exactly which materials were being used. The regulator noted that Italian data protection legislation, which implements the European ePrivacy Directive, requires free and informed consent to access information stored on a smartphone. Amar. This requirement applies regardless of whether the data is transferred to third parties or not, and whether the user is harmed. The department also rejected Meta's objection that the case should be investigated by the Irish regulator. Within 60 days, the company must begin asking for separate consent to use the feature, clearly explain its meaning and how to disable it, and keep it off by default, including for users who have previously � granted access permission to the gallery. If the company does not comply with the requirements within the specified time, the feature cannot be activated for users without valid consent. Meta must inform the regulatory body about the measures taken within 30 days, and about the incidents within 90 days. In determining the amount of the fine, the regulator took into account that the breach affected around 20 million Android users in Italy, lasted for a long time and persisted for those who had not updated the app, as well as for users who had previously They granted permission. The previous decision against the company in 2019 and insufficient cooperation during the investigation were considered aggravating circumstances. The changes made after the complaint were recognized as a mitigating factor, but they were assessed as late and only affecting users who updated the application. Separately, the regulator emphasized that the investigation was not related to the possible use of photos and videos to train artificial intelligence; Meta disclaims such use. The department intends to separately study a new feature launched in 2026 that allows gallery content to be processed in a cloud environment. The amount of the fine is about 0.47 percent of Meta group's global turnover.