LONDON (AP) — Meta was punished Friday with a fine worth more than $100 million from the social media giant's European Union privacy regulator over a security lapse involving passwords for Facebook users.
The Irish Data Protection Commission said it slapped the U.S. tech company with the 91 million euro ($101.6 million) penalty following an investigation.
The watchdog started investigating in 2019 after it was notified by Meta that some passwords had been inadvertently stored internally in plain text, which means they weren't encrypted and it was possible for employees to search for them.
Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said it's “widely accepted” that user passwords should not be stored in plain text, "considering the risks of abuse.”
Meta said a security review found that a “subset” of Facebook users' passwords were “temporarily logged in a readable format.”
“We took immediate action to fix this error, and there is no evidence that these passwords were abused or accessed improperly,” the company said in a statement. "We proactively flagged this issue to our lead regulator, the Irish Data Protection Commission, and have engaged constructively with them throughout this inquiry.”
It's the latest in a series of hefty fines for Meta and its social media platforms from the Dublin-based watchdog, which is the company's lead regulator under the 27-nation EU's stringent data privacy rulebook. They include a 405 million euro fine for Instagram over mishandling teen data, a 5.5 million euro penalty involving WhatsApp and a 1.2 billion euro fine for Meta over transatlantic data transfers.
Meta hit with $102 million privacy fine from European Union over 2019 password security lapse
FILE - In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile device in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Meta hit with $102 million privacy fine from European Union over 2019 password security lapse
MILWAUKEE, (AP) — A prosecutor told jurors Monday that a Wisconsin judge said she would take the heat for directing an immigrant to go through a private door while federal agents waited in a courthouse to find and arrest him.
Opening remarks by Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Alexander kicked off an extraordinary trial for a public official. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan is charged with obstruction and concealment for her actions this spring during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The trial in federal court in Milwaukee will center on what happened when Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, reported to the county courthouse in April for a hearing on a state crime.
Authorities say Dugan led him out through a back door that led to a public corridor after she told immigration agents to speak with the chief judge about trying to arrest people at the courthouse.
“They did not expect a judge, sworn to uphold the law, would divide their arrest team and impede their efforts to do their jobs,” Alexander told the jury.
He said Dugan informed her court reporter that she would take the heat for helping Flores-Ruiz.
The government's case is expected to run through at least Thursday, with roughly two dozen witnesses lined up to testify. The first was FBI agent Erin Lucker who explained a video showing the back corridors of the courthouse and Dugan signaling to immigration officers to see Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
During his opening remarks, defense attorney Steven Biskupic said the judge had no intention of obstructing agents.
He said Dugan was following policy when she directed federal agents to Ashley’s office. Biskupic said other immigration agents still in the courthouse hallway decided not to arrest Flores-Ruiz when he emerged through the door and instead followed him outside the building.
“Now, after the fact, everyone wants to blame Judge Dugan," Biskupic said.
The maximum sentence for the more serious charge, obstruction, is five years in prison.
Flores-Ruiz was arrested after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November that he had been deported after he pleaded no contest in the local battery case and was sentenced to time served.
Ahead of the trial, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman declined to dismiss the charges, saying there was no firmly established immunity for Dugan.
Democrats say Trump is looking to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to immigration arrests. Dugan told police she and her family found threatening flyers at their homes this spring. The administration has branded her an activist judge.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor next year, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a recent tweet.
CORRECTS IDENTIFICATION This courtroom sketch depicts show FBI agent Erin Lucker on the stand during Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan trial on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Adela Tesnow via AP, Pool)
This courtroom sketch depicts defense attorney Steven Biskupic during Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan's trial on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Adela Tesnow via AP, Pool)
This courtroom sketch depicts Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in court on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Adele Tesnow via AP, Pool)
This courtroom sketch depicts Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in court as jury selection in her trial begins Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Adele Tesnow via AP)
