WhatsApp has been fined for breaching the EU’s data privacy laws
The Facebook owned social media platform, used as a messaging service, was found to have breached the European Union’s privacy law.
WhatsApp received a total penalty of €225 million ($267 million) with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission noting that WhatsApp did not properly inform EU citizens how it handles their personal data, which included how the social media platform shares that information with its parent company.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced the decision in an 89-page summary.
The Facebook owned social media platform has been ordered to act and to make updates to its already lengthy privacy policy and change how it notifies users about sharing their data.
This will bring it into compliance with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which governs how tech companies gather and use data in the EU.
Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation came into effect in May 2018, and WhatsApp was one of the first companies to be hit with privacy lawsuits under the regulation.
