According to a European body, WhatsApp did not make a wide communication to the citizens of the European Union about the processing of their data by the company.
WhatsApp , a platform owned by Facebook , has been fined 225 million euros ($ 267 million) for violating European Union data privacy regulations . According to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), WhatsApp did not adequately inform EU citizens about the processing of their private data.
The European regulator said that WhatsApp did not indicate how citizens’ personal information is handled, nor how this information is shared with its parent company Facebook .
“WhatsApp is committed to providing a secure and private service. We have worked to ensure that the information we provide is transparent and complete and will continue to do so,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a brief statement.
DPC announces decision in WhatsApp inquiryhttps://t.co/bo3LZZjunX pic.twitter.com/YgwuB8tetR
— Data Protection Commission Ireland (@DPCIreland) September 2, 2021
WhatsApp will appeal
WhatsApp announced that it will appeal this decision of the European body. “We do not agree with today’s decision on transparency that we provided to people in 2018 and the sanctions are totally disproportionate.”
The DPC’s decision is the conclusion of an investigation started in 2018 and is the second largest fine imposed under the regulations of the General Data Protection Regulation .