News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines

The fines on Apple and Meta could stoke tensions with US President Donald Trump

Apple fined €500m and Meta €200m for breaching EU law

Apple has been fined €500m and Meta €200m, as EU antitrust regulators handed out the first sanctions under landmark legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.

Business • 23 Apr

From May, the social media company plans to begin harvesting public content

Meta to begin training AI models with public content

Meta has announced it is to begin training its artificial intelligence models with public content from across its platforms.

Business • 15 Apr

EU court adviser backs WhatsApp against EU watchdog

Meta Platforms' WhatsApp has got the backing of an adviser to Europe's top court in its fight against the EU privacy watchdog, which had ordered the Irish data protection authority to increase a fine four years ago for privacy breaches.

Business • 27 Mar

Italy is claiming 887.6 million euros from Meta, 12.5 million euros from X and around 140 million euros from LinkedIn.

Italy hands tax demands to Meta, X and LinkedIn

Italy has handed tax demands to Meta, X and LinkedIn in the last formal step in an unprecedented VAT claim against the US tech giants that could have repercussions across the European Union, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said today.

Business • 26 Mar

It is understood that 14 roles are at risk and that potentially impacted staff were informed yesterday.

14 jobs at risk at Meta data centre in Co Meath

Facebook parent company Meta is planning what it described as a 'small number' of redundancies at its data centre in Clonee, Co Meath.

Business • 20 Mar

Meta AI for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is now being rolled out in the EU

Data watchdog to keep Meta AI features under review

Meta has announced the European roll out of artificial intelligence (AI) features on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.

Ireland • 20 Mar

It is not yet known what impact the move will have on the company's Irish operation which employs more than 2,000 people.

Meta planning to cut 5% of global staff

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is planning to cut about 5% of its 'lowest performing' staff globally, according to an internal memo sent to staff.

Business • 15 Jan

A report suggestst that the European Commission is re-evaluating its probes into tech giants including Apple, Meta and Alphabet's Google

EU reassesses tech probes into Apple, Google, Meta - FT

The European Commission is re-evaluating its probes into tech giants including Apple, Meta and Alphabet's Google, the Financial Times reports today.

Business • 14 Jan

Meta said it is ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes, including those for hiring, training and picking suppliers

Meta and Amazon scale back diversity programmes

Facebook owner Meta Platforms and Amazon.com are winding down diversity programmes ahead of Republican Donald Trump's return to the US presidency as conservative opposition to such initiatives grows louder.

Business • 13 Jan

Meta has scrapped its fact-checking programme in the US

EU 'absolutely' rejects Meta CEO's censorship claim

The European Union has rejected a claim by the head of Meta that the bloc is engaged in "censorship" because of its technology regulations.

technology • 09 Jan

Facebook owner Meta said it would begin phasing in Community Notes in the US over the next couple of months

Meta shelves fact-checking programme in US

Meta is ending its fact-checking programme in the US and replacing it with a "Community Notes" system similar to that on Elon Musk-owned X, the Facebook parent said today.

Business • 08 Jan

Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Meta elects UFC CEO Dana White, two others to board

Meta Platforms has elected three new directors to its board, including Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and close friend of president-elect Donald Trump.

Business • 07 Jan

Meta is expected to appeal the Data Protection Commission's decision

Irish Data Protection Commission fines Meta €251m

The Irish Data Protection Commission has fined Facebook owner Meta €251m following a personal data breach that impacted around 29 million Facebook accounts globally, of which approximately three million were based in Europe.

Business • 17 Dec 24

Australia's government plans to charge big tech firms millions of dollars if they did not pay Australian media companies for news hosted on their platforms

Australia announces new plans for big tech firms

Australia's government said today it planned new rules that would charge big tech firms millions of dollars if they did not pay Australian media companies for news hosted on their platforms.

Business • 12 Dec 24

Meta Platforms Ireland is led by Anne O'Leary

Revenues up 20% at Irish arm of Facebook owner to €69.7bn

Revenues at the Dublin-based international headquarters for the operator of Facebook and Instagram last year surged by 20% or €11.69 billion to €69.75 billion in a record performance for the business.

Business • 26 Nov 24

Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp

Meta calls for new EU-wide regulation on age verification

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has called for new EU regulations to harmonise rules for age verification on platforms.

Business • 26 Nov 24

Judge James Boasberg largely denied Meta's motion to end the case filed against Facebook in 2020.

Meta to face US antitrust trial over acquisitions

Facebook owner Meta Platforms must face trial in a US Federal Trade Commission lawsuit seeking its break-up over claims that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to crush emerging competition in social media, a judge in Washington ruled today.

Business • 13 Nov 24

Meta said the changes are for users in the European Union

'Unskippable' ads to feature on Facebook and Instagram

Some ads on Facebook and Instagram will be "unskippable for a few seconds" under new changes announced today by the platforms' parent company Meta.

Ireland • 12 Nov 24

The facial recognition technology will not launch in the EU due to what Meta says is the complexity of the European regulatory system

Meta to test using facial recognition to combat fake ads

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is to test new uses of facial recognition technology to detect and stop scammers from misusing the images of celebrities and public figures for fake ads.

technology • 22 Oct 24

The workers, who are members of the Connect trade union, are to engage in a one-day strike at the data centre on Monday.

Meta denies it is 'union busting' in engineers dispute

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has denied claims that it is engaging in 'union busting' tactics in a dispute with engineers at its data centre in Clonee, Co Meath.

Business • 04 Oct 24

Employees at Meta's data centre in Meath are to hold a one day strike next week over new shift patterns

Connect engineers to strike at Meta data centre in Meath

Engineers, who are members of the Connect trade union, are to engage in a one-day strike next week at Meta's data centre in Clonee, Co Meath.

Business • 03 Oct 24

Meta had told the DPC it had inadvertently stored certain passwords of social media users in 'plaintext' on its internal systems, without cryptographic protection or encryption

Meta fined €91m by DPC for password storage issues

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been fined €91m by the Irish Data Protection Commission.

Business • 27 Sep 24

Among those AI updates is an audio upgrade offering users the option to select a voice for Meta's ChatGPT-like chatbot

Meta readies AR glasses reveal at Connect event

Facebook owner Meta prepared to kick off its annual Connect conference at its California headquarters today, where it is expected to preview its first augmented reality glasses and announce updates to its existing virtual reality and artificial intelligence products.

Business • 25 Sep 24

Tech companies warn over EU AI regulation

Tech companies and business leaders including Meta, Stripe's Patrick Collison, Spotify, SAP and Ericsson have issued an open letter warning that Europe is at risk of falling behind in the artificial intelligence (AI) era due to what they describe as fragmented regulations.

Business • 19 Sep 24

Meta had previously banned the Federal News Agency in Russia to thwart foreign interference activities

Meta bans Russian state media outlets for 'interference'

Meta has said it is banning Russian state media outlets from its apps around the world due to "foreign interference activity".

World • 17 Sep 24