The WhatsApp App has been sanctioned by the Irish Data Protection Commission with a fine of 225 million euros. An important figure, decided after European regulators put pressure on Ireland to harden the sanction. The reason? The company has violated data privacy laws of European Union. Despite this, she seems quite convinced that the fine is “completely disproportionate”, and has already promised she will appeal. In reality, WhatsApp’s sanction is undoubtedly reduced compared to the one that the Luxembourg Privacy Agency has imposed on Amazon. The company, in fact, was forced to pay 886.6 million euros.
WhatsApp app: maxi fine of 225 million euros
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has unearthed the violations of the rules on data transparency by WhatsApp as early as 2018. “This includes information provided to data subjects on the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies”, the Irish regulator specified in a note. In response, a spokesperson for the company expressed all the disappointment: “We do not agree with today’s decision regarding the transparency that we have provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are completely disproportionate”.
For its part, however, the European Data Protection Committee said it had insisted a lot for the Irish body to take a decision regarding WhatsApp. More than once, in fact, he has been reluctant to make decisions about the tech giants. On the contrary, the Committee said that a fine on WhatsApp should take into account Facebook’s turnover. And that society should pay everything in 3 months, instead of 6 as usual. “What is important now is that the many other cases open on WhatsApp in Ireland are finally settled so that we can take faster and longer steps towards uniform application of data protection law in Europe.”
Last July, the European Committee issued a “clear instruction requesting the DPC to review and increase the proposed sanction on the basis of a series of contained factors”. And “following this revaluation, the Dpc has imposed a fine of 225 million euros on WhatsApp”. Indeed, the Irish regulator also asked the company to implement “a series of specific corrective actions”. The matter, however, looks like it will last a while longer. Despite this, the WhatsApp App has violated the rules, and has to pay for it.