The Facebook subsidiary said that it plans to appeal the ruling as it disagrees with the decision and the severity of the fine imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission

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WhatsApp hit with a GDPR fine of €225m in Ireland. (Credit: antonbe from Pixabay)

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a fine of €225m on instant messaging and voice-over-IP service WhatsApp for not complying with privacy regulations.

The fine marks the conclusion of the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) probe undertaken by the Irish data watchdog on WhatsApp Ireland.

Launched in December 2018, the investigation studied if the Facebook subsidiary had discharged its GDPR transparency obligations.

The focus of the probe pertained to the provision of information and the transparency of the information to users and non-users of WhatsApp’s service. It includes information provided to data subjects regarding the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies, said the Irish DPC.

Last December, the Irish supervisory authority had filed a draft decision on its probe to all concerned supervisory authorities (CSAs) under Article 60 GDPR.

Eight of the CSAs from Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, France, and other countries had objected to the DPC’s decision.

Subsequently, a dispute resolution process was triggered in June 2021 as the Irish data watchdog could not arrive at a consensus with the CSAs on the objections raised.

In late July 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) took a binding decision, which was notified to the Irish regulator.

The DPC said that the EDPB had instructed it to re-evaluate and increase the proposed fine on the basis of various factors contained in its decision.

The Irish regulator has also reprimanded and ordered WhatsApp to ensure that its processing complies with the GDPR rules by implementing a variety of specified remedial actions.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp said that it disagrees with the decision of the DPC as well as the severity of the fine. The instant messaging platform plans to appeal against the decision.

A company spokesperson said: “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. We disagree with the decision today regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are entirely disproportionate.”