The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a record 225-million-euro ($266 million) fine on WhatsApp Ireland for infringements of data protection rules on Sept. 2. It follows an inquiry into the messaging app’s transparency around sharing personal data with other Facebook companies.
The sanction on the messaging service, which is owned by Facebook, is the largest fine ever imposed by the DPC and the second largest penalty ever levied on an organisation under EU data laws.
Ireland’s DPC, which is the lead data privacy regulator for Facebook within the European Union, said the issues related to whether WhatsApp conformed in 2018 with EU data rules about transparency and how it handles information.
The DPC’s investigation commenced on Dec. 10, 2018 and examined whether WhatsApp had discharged its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) transparency obligations with regard to the provision of information and the transparency of that information to both users and non-users of its service.
“This includes information provided to data subjects about the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies,” the Irish regulator said in a statement.
The DPC concluded its investigation last year, and sent a draft decision to all Concerned Supervisory Authorities (CSAs) for consideration, as required by GDPR.
Source: The Epochtimes