The WhatsApp subsidiary was fined €5.5 million (approximately $5.95 million) on Thursday by Ireland s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), the lead EU privacy regulator, following an additional violation of European Union (EU) privacy laws.
The Data Privacy Commission advised Meta-owned WhatsApp to revise its use of personal data for service improvements after receiving a similar order it issued this month to the main platforms, Facebook and Instagram. It said that the company must reevaluate the legal basis for which it uses personal data to target advertising.
Read Also: US Govt To Announce An International Cryptocurrency Action
In a statement, a spokesperson for WhatsApp argued that it intended to appeal the court’s decision and that it strongly believed that the process of how its services operate is both technically and legally compliant.
The European Union’s leading watchdog for technology companies, with its headquarter in Ireland, directed the instant messaging application WhatsApp to bring its operations into compliance within 6 months.
DPC fined WhatsApp 225 million euros in September 2021, the same period of time as the complaint was filed on Thursday. On the other hand, WhatsApp is considering appealing the fine through Irish courts.
It is pertinent to mention here that the authority has fined Meta 1.3 billion euros to date. It also has 10 other inquiries from regulators on its services.
