Australia Fines Meta $14 Million for Undisclosed Data Collection

An Australian court has ordered Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, to pay fines totaling $14 million for collecting user data through a smartphone app called Onavo without disclosing its actions. The app was advertised as a way to protect privacy, but Facebook used it to collect users' location, time, and frequency of app usage for its own advertising purposes. The court found that Facebook's failure to disclose this information deprived Australian consumers of the opportunity to make an informed choice. Meta still faces another civil court action in Australia related to its dealings with Cambridge Analytica.