Social media giant Meta has been fined an additional 5.5 million euros ($5.9 million) for violating EU data protection regulations with its instant messaging platform WhatsApp, Ireland’s regulator announced Thursday.
The penalty follows a far larger 390-million-euro fine for Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms two weeks ago after they were found to have flouted the same EU rules.
In its new decision, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) found the group acted “in breach of its obligations in relation to transparency,” the watchdog said in a statement.
In addition, Meta relied on an incorrect legal basis “for its processing of personal data for the purposes of service improvement and security,” the DPC added, giving the group six months to comply.
The fine was imposed by the Irish regulator because Meta — along with other US tech firms — has its European headquarters in Dublin.
