The Irish data protection commissioner has fined the Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp €225 million euro (approximately $266 million dollars) for “severe” breaches of privacy laws.
The Irish Times reports that Ireland’s data protection commissioner Helen Dixon has fined the Facebook-owned private messaging app WhatsApp €225 million euro (approximately $266 million dollars) for “severe” breaches of privacy laws. The fine came after European regulators encouraged Dixon to greatly increase the fine against the internet giant.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 10: Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. Zuckerberg, 33, was called to testify after it was reported that 87 million Facebook users had their personal information harvested by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm linked to the Trump campaign. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The WhatsApp fine is the largest issued by Dixon since 2018 when she was tasked with enforcing the European Union’s new privacy laws. Dixon commented on WhatsApp’s actions stating: “It is appropriate to classify the infringements . . . as being severe in gravity.”
WhatsApp was criticized by Dixon for a “very significant information deficit” among four violations of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which has resulted in sweeping changes to the handling of user data across Europe. According to Dixon, WhatsApp only provided 41 percent of the prescribed information to users of its service and none to non-users.
In a 266-page ruling, Dixon stated: “All four infringements are in my view very serious in nature,” adding: “They go to the heart of the general principle of transparency and the fundamental right of the individual to protection of his/her personal data which stems from the free will and autonomy of the individual to share his/her personal data in a voluntary situation such as this.”
Dixon stated that the impact on non-users of WhatsApp was “particularly severe” as they were denied the right to exercise control over their own personal data. Initially, Dixon proposed a 30 to 50 million euro fine ($35 million to $59 million USD) against WhatsApp but was told by the European Data Protection Board to increase the penalty.
Dixon’s office stated: “This decision contained a clear instruction that required the [Irish data protection commission] to reassess and increase its proposed fine on the basis of a number of factors contained in the EDPB’s decision and following this reassessment the DPC has imposed a fine of €225 million on WhatsApp.”
WhatsApp has disputed the fine, claiming that it is out of line with previous GDPR penalties. The company said in a statement: “We disagree with the decision today regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are entirely disproportionate. We will appeal this decision. WhatsApp is committed to providing a secure and private service. We have worked to ensure the information we provide is transparent and comprehensive and will continue to do so.”
It was recently reported that WhatsApp has faced a major security vulnerability that could lead to further data leakage. The company has since fixed the exploit but shows that the end-to-end encrypted messaging app may not be as secure as once thought. Read more about the vulnerability at 9to5Mac here.
Read more about the latest fine brought against WhatsApp at the Irish Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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