Facebook Faces $3.4Bn Fine for Latest Data Breach

Facebook could be fined 4% of its $86 billion global revenue

Europe’s leading privacy regulator is investigating whether Facebook broke the law in the handling of its latest data breach.

Earlier this month, the personal data of over 533 million Facebook users were dumped online for free in a hacking forum. The data included phone numbers that users didn’t make public on their Facebook profiles.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission which has been charged with overseeing Facebook’s privacy compliance has announced it had opened an investigation into the social media giant on Wednesday.

If Facebook is found to have violated the EU’s data rules, it could face a monetary fine of up to $3.4 billion, 4% of its $86 billion global revenue.