Social platforms racked up $26 billion in privacy penalties since 2020

A Surfshark study found the top 10 social networks incurred over $26 billion in privacy fines and settlements since 2020. Meta accounted for $23.7 billion (91%), with Facebook at $14.3 billion and Instagram at $9.4 billion. US regulators imposed $20.9 billion, European ones $5.16 billion.

• Meta paid $23.7 billion, or 91% of all privacy penalties
• Largest single penalty was a $17.1 billion US settlement over minors
• TikTok ranked third at $1.6 billion, LinkedIn at $360 million
• Pinterest was the only platform with zero privacy fines