EU regulator fines WhatsApp $5.95 million for breach of privacy laws

Meta's WhatsApp subsidiary was fined 5.5 million euros ($5.95 million) on Thursday by Ireland's Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC) for an additional breach of the EU's privacy laws.

The DPC, which acts as the EU's lead privacy regulator for Meta, said WhatsApp must reassess how it uses personal data for service improvements.

Its ruling follows a similar order it issued this month to Meta's other main platforms, Facebook and Instagram, which stated Meta must reassess the legal basis upon which it targets advertising through the use of personal data.

The DPC fined WhatsApp 225 million euros in September 2021 for breaches that occurred over the same period of time as the complaint dealt with on Thursday.

It has fined Meta 1.3 billion euros to date and has 10 other inquiries open into its services.