(Jan 19): Meta Platforms Inc’s WhatsApp was slapped with a €5.5 million (US$6 million) fine and a six-month ultimatum to bring its data processing in line with European Union law after a broader investigation which also led to fines for its Facebook and Instagram units.

WhatsApp violated EU data protection rules by forcing users to opt-in to the tech firm’s data processing without sufficient clarity about how and for what purposes this was done, the Irish Data Protection Commission decided.

WhatsApp “is not entitled to rely on the contract legal basis for the delivery of service improvement and security” and the legal basis for the service’s data processing is in breach of EU law, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday.

The Irish authority is the lead watchdog for some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech firms including Meta, who have European headquarters in Ireland. The probes followed complaints in 2018 against Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp which challenged Meta’s new rules requiring users to accept the new ‘contract’ terms to access their services.
 
The Irish decision follows a binding order by the European Data Protection Board, the EU body overseeing national data watchdogs, laying out which way the Irish regulator’s final decision concerning Meta’s units should go.

While accepting the EU body’s order, the Irish regulator said it will appeal an obligation to start fresh investigations into the data processing of Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram units. The challenge will be a first big test of the board’s powers since it was created when the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, took effect.