> Users must grant permission on their device before the feature can operate, and they can change that permission at any time in their settings.
> The fine is equivalent to about 0.47% of the group's global revenue.
What is Italy protecting Italians from here? I think it's clear consent was given at some point. So the objection is what? They need to ask consent again periodically? Or on a feature-by-feature basis? Who was conceivably harmed, and how?
How does Meta accept user content in the future without running afoul of the exact same rule again?
> I think it's clear consent was given at some point
That's not what was found. I don't know the facts of the case, but it's possible that "consent" mechanisms were found to be insufficient. As an example, if you ask for permission for one purpose, then use it for another, that would probably not meet the "inform users" bar.
Giving access to photos so that the user can upload a photo is not giving consent to analyze all the photos of the user on a phone.
The main principle of the GDPR is to store and use as little private data as possible and only get/store data when the user explicitly asks for it/consents to it.
(IANAL of course.)
What they were found guilty of doing is suggesting to the user they might want to upload a photo. All on-device, not uploading anything.