Instagram Is Likely to Face a EUR 405 Million Fine for Displaying Information of Teenagers

It has been recently reported that Instagram will have to pay out a fine of EUR 405 million due to their violation of the data privacy rules established by the European Union. The investigation has been conducted by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, but it is likely that Instagram will try to appeal. 

The Meta company, which owns a popular social media platform, appears to have revealed information of teenagers that should have stayed private. According to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, this case concerns teenagers that use Instagram and are between the ages of 13 and 17. 

A scientist has reportedly found out that the social media platform displayed private contact information of teenagers on their pages when they switched to business accounts. It is most likely that users chose such business accounts to see additional statistics that are not available for personal Instagram accounts. According to the developers of Instagram, they began removing this function from personal accounts in a number of countries. 

Meta claims that the investigation conducted by the Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is based on outdated settings, which were already updated more than a year ago. This includes the addition of different privacy features for teenagers that use the platform. The team of the Irish organization will supposedly reveal the details of this case in the upcoming week.

The topic of how Instagram affects the mental health of teens and their privacy has been a hot one for a while. Instagram has already faced plenty of criticism, so it’s only natural that they continue to add different features to protect teens. 

What are your thoughts on the use of Instagram by teens? Please, share your opinion in the comments below.