The European Union (EU) has slapped Facebook with a massive $1.3 billion fine for violating digital privacy rules. The social media giant, owned by Meta, was found guilty of transferring EU citizens’ data to servers in the United States, which goes against the bloc’s strict privacy regulations. As part of the consequences, the Ireland Data Protection Commission has ordered Meta to stop any future transfers of EU citizen data to the US within the next five months. Meta has a long road ahead of them if they plan to appeal or comply Additionally, the company must work towards achieving compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including processing EU citizens’ data on US servers, within six months. We could go on about the specifics of the story, but it’s truly deep in the weeds, and truthfully, it’s a bit on the boring side. If you prefer, jump here to this post from Engadget; Daniel Cooper does a solid job reporting the specifics. Meta is “disappointed” over the decision (or having to pay $1.3 billion, either or) Sir Nick Clegg (ugh, I hate typing that), Meta’s president of global affairs, expressed disappointment over the decision, stating that Facebook acted in good faith. In a statement, he points out that cross-border data flows are essential for many businesses, not just his own. In a blog post, he wrote: .stk-3de7878{box-shadow:0 0 0 2px rgba(120,120,120,0.1) !important}.stk-3de7878-container{background-color:#f3f3f3 !important}.stk-3de7878-container:before{background-color:#f3f3f3 !important} .stk-83ad96f{margin-left:-20px !important}.stk-83ad96f .stk–svg-wrapper .stk–inner-svg svg:last-child{opacity:0.7 !important}.stk-83ad96f .stk–svg-wrapper .stk–inner-svg svg:last-child,.stk-83ad96f .stk–svg-wrapper .stk–inner-svg svg:last-child :is(g,path,rect,polygon,ellipse){fill:var(–stk-global-color-56583,#911d9c) !important} .stk-105c44c{margin-left:-17px…Meta ordered to pay a $1.3 billion fine because they’re bad with data