Australia fines Facebook owner Meta $14 million for undisclosed data collection

An Australian court ordered Facebook owner Meta Platforms to pay fines totalling A$20 million ($14 million) for collecting user data through a smartphone application advertised as a way to protect privacy without disclosing its actions.

Australia's Federal Court also ordered Meta, through its subsidiaries Facebook Israel and the now-discontinued app, Onavo, to pay A$400,000 (nearly Rs. 2.2 crore) in legal costs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which brought the civil lawsuit.

The fine wraps up one strand of Meta's legal issues in Australia related to its handling of user information since a global scandal erupted over its use of data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica in the 2016 US election.