The Irish Data Protection Commission fined WhatsApp 225 million euros, as it found that the messenger did not sufficiently inform users about the collection and use of their personal information. The regulator’s decision is published on the website of the European Council for Data Protection, writes RBC.
The decision of the commission says that WhatsApp provided only 41% of the prescribed information to users of the messenger and no information to those who are not users. The regulator called this “a very significant information deficit.” In addition, the commission decided that the messenger did not sufficiently inform users about how their data was transferred to Facebook.
WhatsApp considered the fine “completely disproportionate” and intends to appeal against it, according to Reuters.
The Irish regulator’s commissioner said the investigation focused on whether WhatsApp was in compliance with EU data transparency rules in 2018. In May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, which regulates the use of personal data of users. The decision of the Irish regulator says that after that the Data Protection Commission received complaints about how WhatsApp handles personal information of users.
A spokesperson for WhatsApp said the company provided comprehensive information about its 2018 privacy policy. “We disagree with today’s decision regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
WhatsApp’s fine is a record for the Irish regulator, CNBC reported. However, it is significantly smaller than the one that the Luxembourg National Data Protection Commission issued Amazon in July. Then the company was fined 746 million euros for violating EU data protection rules.