The American technology giant Meta was fined a record 1.2 billion euros for non-compliance with EU rules on the protection of personal data.

 This is reported by Politico.

 Ireland's data protection commission announced on Monday that Meta breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when it moved vast swaths of European Facebook users' personal data to the US without providing sufficient protections against data surveillance methods used by Washington.

 This is the largest fine ever imposed under the EU's flagship General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and it was imposed ahead of the law's fifth anniversary on May 25.

 Ireland's privacy watchdog said Meta's use of a legal tool known as Standard Contractual Conditions (SCC) to move data to the US "fails to take into account the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms" of European Facebook users arising from the landmark Court ruling EC.

 In 2020, the EU Court of Justice struck down an agreement between the EU and the US on data sharing, known as the Privacy Shield, over concerns about surveillance practices by US intelligence agencies. In the same ruling, the court also strengthened requirements for the use of the SCC, another legal tool widely used by companies to transfer personal data in the US.

 Meta, like other international companies, continued to rely on this legal tool as European and US officials tried to hammer out a new agreement on data flows and the US tech giant lacked other legal mechanisms to transfer its personal data.

 The EU and the US are finalizing work on a new data transfer agreement, which could be concluded in either July or October. Meta has until October 12 to stop relying on the SCC for data transmission.

 The US tech giant has previously warned that if it is forced to stop using SCC without a proper alternative data agreement in place, it could shut down services such as Facebook and Instagram in Europe.

 The EU previously fined Amazon €746 million, while the Irish regulator also imposed fines on four Meta platforms - Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - worth between €405 million and €225 million over the past two years.