WhatsApp fined $266M by EU privacy watchdog over data breach

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said it found violations in the way WhatsApp explained how it processed users’ and nonusers’ data and how data was shared between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies.

Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp was ordered to pay a 225 million-euro ($266 million) penalty for failing to be transparent about how it handled personal information, its first fine under beefed-up European Union data protection law. The Irish Data Protection Commission — Silicon Valley’s main privacy watchdog in Europe — said it found violations in the way WhatsApp explained how it processed users’ and non-users’ data, as well as how data was shared between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies. The fine comes weeks after Amazon.com Inc. was hit with a record 746 million-euro penalty in Luxembourg, where it has its European base, for processing personal data in violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.