Ireland ordered WhatsApp to pay €5.5 million ($5.9 million) for breaching European Union’s privacy rules.
The famous chat app, WhatsApp, was ordered to pay a hefty fine of €5.5 million (euros) in a case exposing the divisions in EU watchdogs about how to regulate the parent company, Meta. The Data Protection Commission sent the orders on 18th January 2023 asking WhatsApp to pay the fine for forcing users to allow their personal data to be used by the parent company in the name of offering ‘service improvements and security’.
The Data Protection Commission decided on this when some of its European counterparts refused to let the company (Meta) get off without a fine. A similar incident occurred earlier this month. The Irish watchdog fined Meta Platforms Inc. $390. Meta has been forcing Instagram and Facebook users to agree to receive personalized ads based on their online activity, which would breach EU privacy rules.
The Difference of Opinion Between Irish and EU Commissions
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It’s interesting to note that the commission initially sided with the social media giant. It wasn’t until other EU watchdogs objected that the commission had to change its original draft and overturn the decision of letting Meta off the hook. The commission, headquartered in Dublin, had no choice but to levy a stringent fine on Meta for violating the privacy rules.
The commission has also asked the company to make sure its data processing operations are in compliance with EU privacy rules. It has set a deadline of six months for the company to make the necessary changes.
The final statement (of orders) released by the Irish watchdog was highly technical. Nevertheless, it had enough evidence to show the ongoing tension between the European watchdogs and their clash of decisions. The document mentions that the board of data protection regulators from the EU has ‘purported to direct’ the Irish watchdog to conduct a fresh investigation on all data processing operations by WhatsApp. The commission also added that it is not the board’s role to make such instructions and concluded that it would approach the top court in the EU to annul the order.
What WhatsApp Says
WhatsApp has no intention of taking orders or paying fines to the commission. The company has already said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal in court. It released a statement saying, “We strongly believe that the way the service operates is both technically and legally compliant.”
