- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Neil Hodge2023-01-19T18:21:00
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) on Thursday announced a fine of 5.5 million euros (U.S. $5.9 million) against WhatsApp under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for forcing users to consent to updated terms and conditions or lose access to the service.
The penalty is the third the Irish DPC has assessed against Meta businesses this year for similar violations of the GDPR. On Jan. 4, the regulator announced fines of €210 million (then-U.S. $223 million) against Facebook and €180 million (then-U.S. $191 million) against Instagram. Meta plans to appeal all three fines.
As part of the enforcement action, WhatsApp was ordered to bring its data processing operations into compliance within six months. A WhatsApp spokesperson said the company “strongly believes that the way the service operates is both technically and legally compliant” and disagreed with the decision.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT. To continue reading, choose one of the options below.
News and analysis for the well-informed compliance or audit exec.
Annual Membership best value
Subscribe now for $365
Our lowest price ($1 per day) for one year.
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority is set to impose a temporary ban on Meta carrying out behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram using the personal information of users in the country.
The Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta Ireland a total of €390 million (U.S. $414 million) for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation by forcing users to agree their personal data can be used for targeted advertising to access Facebook and Instagram.
Meta Platforms Ireland was fined €265 million (U.S. $274 million) for failing to put in place adequate measures to protect users’ data after a leak compromised the personal details of more than half a billion individuals.
Three former executives of Chicago-based Outcome Health, a healthcare technology company, were sentenced for misleading an auditor, clients, lenders, and investors about a scheme to sell $45 million in overbilled advertisements.
A home health company operating in Indiana, Ohio, and Texas agreed to pay nearly $4.5 million to settle allegations it filed false claims by giving sports tickets and other kickbacks to assisted living facilities in exchange for referrals.
Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will pay a total of $63 million penalties to California and the Federal Reserve Board to settle charges that its anti-money laundering program failed to properly monitor more than $1 trillion worth of customer transactions.
