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THE IRISH DATA Protection Commissioner (DPC) has fined WhatsApp Ireland a record €225 million after a GDPR investigation into how it shares user data with other Facebook-owned social media platforms.
It’s the largest fine the DPC has ever levied against a company in its history.
The second-largest was a €450,000 penalty handed out to Twitter last December for its handling of a data breach.
The investigation stemmed from a DPC inquiry, which began in 2018, into WhatsApp Ireland and its compliance with European transparency rules under GDPR.
Incorporated in 2017, WhatsApp Ireland is the Facebook subsidiary’s main corporate entity in Europe. The Irish DPC has responsibility for oversight of the social media platform because Facebook and WhatsApp’s European headquarters are based in Dublin.
The DPC investigation examined whether WhatsApp has met its GDPR transparency obligations to users and non-users of WhatsApp’s service.
This included information provided to users about the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies.
Last December, the DPC sent its initial draft decision to Europe’s overarching privacy watchdog, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), which is made up of 27 EU national data regulators.
But the EPDB itself issued its own decision in July after the Irish DPC was unable to reach a consensus with eight other regulators on the matter.
On foot of July’s EDPB decision, the Irish DPC was required to increase the size of its initial fine.
“This decision contained a clear instruction that required the DPC to reassess and increase its proposed fine on the basis of a number of factors contained in the EDPB’s decision,” the Irish watchdog said in a statement this morning.
“Following this reassessment the DPC has imposed a fine of €225 million on WhatsApp.”
In addition, the DPC has also formally reprimanded the Facebook-owned company, “along with an order for WhatsApp to bring its processing into compliance by taking a range of specified remedial actions”.
WhatsApp said it would appeal the decision.
“We disagree with the decision today,” the company said in a statement, calling the penalties “entirely disproportionate”.
Earlier this year, the Irish DPC’s handling of complaints about WhatsApp sparked a public row between Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon and Ulrich Kelber, Germany’s chief data protection watchdog.
In an open letter in March, Kelber said attacked the Irish office over the speed with which it can deal with complaints.
Specifically, Kelber claimed that he has sent “more than 50 complaints about WhatsApp” to the Irish commissioner, “none of which had been closed to date”.
He complained of the Irish DPC’s office “extremely slow case handling, which falls significantly behind the case handling progress of most EU and especially German supervisors”.
Additional reporting by AFP
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Personal I think it is very disappointing that we now see Stephen Day as a shopping day now!
Agreed. Every year in America there’s hassle over people working thanksgiving and it’s heading the same way with Christmas over here now, I understand certain jobs have to be done, but do shops need to only be goving people Christmas day off? Let folk be with their families for a few days
David Attenborough could narrate the early morning sales in Next:
“Here we see the eager size 8 pounce on an elegant black dress reduced by 40%. She makes herself bigger to intimidate the other opportunists.”
I see no problem with the Stephen Day sales, but I do have an issue with shops opening at 5am on Stephen Day. If nothing could open before 12pm, it allows shop employees to enjoy christmas day, and not worry about being in work for silly o clock.
When do you think the staff members mark down the stock? Christmas Eve after closing and earlier than 5am on Stephens day
Agreed. Last year I couldn’t go home for Christmas because I was working late Christmas Eve and Early Stephens day. I was completely on my own for the day,like…people don’t think of that when they’re tearing chunks off each other on Stephens day!
I mostly avoid them like the plague… Hate pushing, shoving, grabbing and waiting in line. So many things ‘bought on sale’ that turned out to be a waste and impulse buy.
Some times I do wait until I know a promotion will be on. There’s a few stores where if the staff consider you a really good customer they will tell you if a discount is coming up or put aside something they know you’ve been looking at when it goes on sale.
I wish I could afford to be a good customer to any shop!
Why go in among the craziness? I live abroad and buy a lot of gifts on Amazon during the Black Friday sale. Then I have them sent home waiting for me to wrap when I come home for Christmas.
Thanksgiving is a lovely holiday and a great idea. Black Friday is the opposite
Thanksgiving…. The Day Americans give thanks and say how grateful they are for all they have. 24 hours later they shove and toss each other out of the way for a cheap TV.
More American b*llsh*t that we don’t need.
Exactly! I don’t understand why people are so often in a rush to import the dumbest & most irritating Americanisms. Like the plans to change the Junior Cert to the American model of continuous assessment., despite the fact that pretty much every study has shown that the US has one of the worst education systems of any developed country. There’s so many other things like this that I see and I just don’t get it. The Americanisation of Ireland would be gross, they’ve enough problems of their own without us importing them!
Turkey and stuffing is originally an American tradition. I doubt you complain about that. I also doubt you were getting pissy when Santa brought you presents which is also not an Irish tradition . Get over yourself sir. The vast majority of traditions you celebrate have come from other places at some point or another…
The reason black friday became a big thing here in the USA is because families get together for 3-4 continuous days straight, that doesn’t happen often. And since it’s ~ 4 weeks before Christmas, it was the perfect weekend to also go shopping for presents for one another together.
It can be a blast taking your cousins and family you haven’t seen in months or years to the mall to shop with each other like you were kids.
Eventually it became crazy sales at 6AM, but around 9-10 AM, things quiet down nicely and families hit the malls together, have lunch out, etc.
The 3-part Black Friday/Game of Thrones episode of South Park is one of my favourites ever made. Well worth a look.
That episode was pretty full on right enough!!
Well most of our culture is dominated by the U.S. Anyway so no big deal,HAPPY HOLIDAY
And sure why not? Ire-lalaland is the 51st state after all! Bah! Humbug.
You have to be really poor and miserable to set camp for Black Friday, and I hope this American tradition never sees the light in Ireland. Do some maths;
To set up camp, means then you would have to take holidays off or you are unemployed, imagine someone earning €2000 per month, means that they would be loosing €100 per day by setting camp, plus food costs as they would have to buy food,drinks and coffee on the streets to keep you warm. That’s an average of €120 per person daily easily. Spend 3-4 days camping, thats €360 – €480 gone.
50% off X-Box One = €200
50% off toys average = €100
50% off gifts = €200
Total savings = €500
Total money lost camping = €480
Total Black Friday savings = €20
Congratulations, you’re looser
Clothes would be looser alright cos of lack of food breaks
Thank fook I don’t work retail. I’d hate to be away from my family over the Christmas holidays.
Not any more. Can’t afford it unless I need it.
But today is Thursday.
wow, no flies on you.
Stephens day is out Black Friday!!!! Hate it
Best time of the year to get a full outfit for a few moolah , I love it!
Please, please….keep it over there….we have enough OTT Americian shite.
Kindle Fire HDX 32 GB €160 on Amazon – amazing !!!
50 inch tv for $218, 32′ for $99 in Walmart. Who the fuk would turn that down.
I’ve yet to see anything like that in Ireland. A good few Irish retailers just see it as an opportunity to sell the off season stuff that didn’t sell previously. They don’t seem to do deep discounts.
Yup, Ireland is a dumping ground for out-of-date British stock.
In order to have a Black Friday in Ireland we will require a never ending hoard of consumer zombies who are willing to fight each other over material objects. I think it could work here
Stupid poll. Yes, bargains make you shop more under normal circumstances but when faced with the possibility of getting crushed at worst and overspending on unplanned purchases at best, I think it’s best to think about what you want to buy, shop around online and buy them at a price you’re comfortable enough with.
People can be in such a rush at those sales they buy things that aren’t suitable, don’t go with other presents, or just aren’t needed at all. And then there’s the crazy parking money and food to keep you going.
Brack Friday bunduru!!
have your say