Ireland imposes a penalty of 225 million euros on WhatsApp . The reason is that the Facebook subsidiary violated the European Union’s data privacy rules.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said WhatsApp was not providing EU citizens with sufficient information about what was being done to their data.
WhatsApp has failed to inform Europeans about how their personal information is collected and used. In addition, how the instant messaging platform shares data with Facebook, as quoted from CNBC International, Thursday (2/9/2021).
The agency has also asked WhatsApp to change its privacy policy and the way it communicates with users to comply with European privacy laws.
To CNBC International, a spokesperson for WhatsApp said it did not agree with the decision. And also added that the company plans to file an appeal.
WhatsApp is Committed to Providing the Best Service
In addition, the company also said that it is committed to providing safe and private services. It also ensures that the information provided is transparent and comprehensive.
“We have worked to ensure the information we provide is transparent and comprehensive and will continue to do so,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
“We disagree with today’s decision regarding the transparency we gave people in 2018 and the completely disproportionate punishment,” he added.
The number of fines granted by WhatsApp is the largest by Ireland for violations of the Personal Data Protection Regulation or GDPR in Europe.
Previously, Amazon was also sanctioned by Luxembourg regulators for violating GDPR for using consumer data in advertising. The tech giant was fined 746 million euros last July.
Google was also fined by French regulators in 2019. At that time the search engine giant was fined 50 million euros for violating advertising from GDPR rules.
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