In November 2018, the antitrust body ruled that Facebook had not properly informed users properly about its collection and use of data.

It fined the US company $5.5 million and asked it to publish an amended statement on the homepage of its website for Italy, on the Facebook app, and on the personal page of each registered Italian user.

However, Facebook didn’t publish the statement and carried on doing it anyway.

A Facebook spokesman said the company had taken notice of the regulator’s announcement but would “await the Council of State decision on our appeal against the Authority’s initial findings”.

The spokesman added that Facebook had already made changes, including to its term of service, to clarify how data to provide its services and tailored advertising are used.