09-04-2021 , 10:29 AM
Quote:Ireland's Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC) has hit Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp with a €225 million ($266 million) administrative fine for violating the EU's GDPR privacy regulation after failing to inform users and non-users on what it does with their data.
EU data regulators can impose maximum GDPR fines of up to €20 million (about $24.3 million) or 4% of the infringing company's annual global turnover – whichever is greater – for violating EU's privacy laws.
The fine follows an investigation started in December 2018 after the data watchdog received multiple complaints from "individual data subjects" (both users and non-users) regarding WhatsApp data processing activities.
Throughout the investigation, Ireland's DPC "examined whether WhatsApp has discharged its GDPR transparency obligations with regard to the provision of information and the transparency of that information to both users and non-users of WhatsApp’s service."
"This includes information provided to data subjects about the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies," the regulator explained.
WhatsApp's fine reflects the infringements the EU regulators found:
In respect of Article 5(1)(a) of the GDPR (a fine of €90 million);
In respect of Article 12 of the GDPR (a fine of €30 million);
In respect of Article 13 of the GDPR (a fine of €30 million); and
In respect of Article 14 of the GDPR (a fine of €75 million).
On top of the fine, the Irish data watchdog also ordered WhatsApp to bring its processing into compliance with GDPR's requirements by taking a range of specified remedial actions with a deadline that will expire in three months. The decision of the Irish DPC can be found and read in full here.
Continue reading HERE