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Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Meta Platforms Ireland Limited €91 million after finding that it stored some Facebook users’ passwords in readable plaintext on internal systems and failed to meet GDPR security, breach-notification and record-keeping obligations. The $102 million headline figure is an approximate conversion: the Associated Press reported the fine as about $101.6 million.
What happened to Facebook users’ passwords?
In April 2019, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (MPIL) notified Ireland’s DPC that some social-media user passwords had been inadvertently stored in plaintext on internal systems, without cryptographic protection or encryption. The DPC’s inquiry concerned the Facebook service and examined two password-logging incidents that came to MPIL’s attention in January 2019.
Plaintext means the passwords were kept in a readable form rather than protected by encryption or a cryptographic hash. That describes how the information was stored; it does not, by itself, establish that an outsider accessed or misused it.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow much was the fine, and who imposed it?
The official penalty was €91 million, imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission. The DPC adopted its final decision on 26 September 2024 and announced it on 27 September 2024. The Associated Press described the amount as approximately $101.6 million, which accounts for the rounded $102 million figure used in some headlines.
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The legal subject of the decision was Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, not the European Commission. The DPC said other concerned supervisory authorities raised no objections to its draft decision as part of the EU/EEA cooperation process.
Which GDPR rules did Meta breach?
The DPC found infringements across four GDPR provisions. Together, they address protecting personal data and handling a breach when one occurs.
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| GDPR provision | DPC finding |
|---|---|
| Article 5(1)(f) | Failure to ensure appropriate integrity and confidentiality of personal data. |
| Article 32(1) | Failure to use security measures appropriate to the risk. |
| Article 33(1) | Failure to notify the DPC of a personal data breach involving the plaintext password storage. |
| Article 33(5) | Failure to document the breaches. |
The DPC issued a reprimand as well as administrative fines totalling €91 million. Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said that passwords should not be stored in plaintext because of the risk of abuse, adding that these passwords were particularly sensitive because they could enable access to users’ social-media accounts.
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The DPC’s findings concerned password storage and Meta’s GDPR obligations; they do not establish that the passwords were actually abused. Meta told the Associated Press that a security review found a “subset” of Facebook users’ passwords had been “temporarily logged in a readable format.” The company said it acted to fix the error and had no evidence the passwords were abused or accessed improperly. Those statements are Meta’s account as reported by AP, rather than a finding by the DPC.
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