WhatsApp hit with record €225m fine for breaching EU privacy regulations

WhatsApp has been fined a record €225m (£193m) after it was found to have breached EU data protection rules.

An investigation by Ireland’s privacy watchdog found that the company broke stringent regulations in relation to transparency of data shared with other companies also owned by parent firm Facebook.

The Data Protection Commission said on Thursday it was also ordering WhatsApp to take “remedial actions”, so that its processing complies with EU rules.

WhatsApp said the fine was out of proportion, and that it would appeal the decision.

The announcement wraps up an investigation into the messaging service that opened in December 2018, after EU rules known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect.

The penalty is the second-highest handed out under the GDPR rules to date and the biggest ever issued by the commission in Ireland, beating a €400,000 (£344,000) fine given to Twitter for a security breach.

Source: Sky News

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