SYDNEY, July 26 (Reuters) - An Australian court ordered Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O) to pay fines totalling A$20 million ($14 million) for collecting user data through a smartphone application advertised as a way to protect privacy without disclosing its actions.
Australia's Federal Court also ordered Meta, through its subsidiaries Facebook Israel and the now-discontinued app, Onavo, to pay A$400,000 in legal costs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which brought the civil lawsuit.
Meta still faces a civil court action by Australia's Office of the Information Commissioner over its dealings with Cambridge Analytica in Australia.
However, Facebook used Onavo to collect users' location, time and frequency using other smartphone apps, and websites they visited for its own advertising purposes, the judge Wendy Abraham said in a written judgment.
($1 = 1.4736 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Tom Hogue and Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Meta, Wendy Abraham, Abraham, Byron Kaye, Tom Hogue
Organizations:
SYDNEY, Meta, Facebook Israel, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Cambridge, Australia's Office, Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, Thomson
Locations:
Australia, Lincoln