WhatsApp received a millionaire fine of 225 million euros ($ 267 million) for violating the data privacy regulations of the European Union (EU). The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced that the decision was made because the instant messaging platform did not adequately inform how it handles the personal data of users, nor the way it shares it with Facebook.
Irish authorities ordered WhatsApp to expand its already extensive privacy policy and change the way it notifies users about how it uses their data. Thus, the application would comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of Europe, which governs the way in which technology companies collect and use data in the EU.
For its part, WhatsApp has expressed its disagreement with the decision, since it considers that the fine is disproportionate and is not in tune with the previous fines related to the RGPD, for which it will appeal. In the words of a company spokesperson:
WhatsApp is committed to providing a safe and private service. We have worked to ensure that the information we provide is transparent and complete and will continue to do so. We do not agree with today’s decision regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are completely disproportionate. We will appeal this decision.
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The fine received by WhatsApp is the second largest that has been imposed under GDPR regulations. In July this year, Amazon was fined a record $ 887 million by Luxembourg authorities, also for violating EU privacy laws.
Last December, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Twitter 450 thousand euros for a data breach; And earlier, in 2019, the French data protection authority fined Google 50 million euros for lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent in the personalization of ads.
Currently, the DPC has a large body of ongoing investigations into other large tech firms, such as Facebook, Apple, Instagram, Google, and Twitter.