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WhatsApp fined $267M for breaching GDPR privacy rules
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Facebook can reportedly submit its appeal not only in Ireland but also directly to the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice. That’s because the fine was issued as a result of a decision by a board representing all EU privacy regulators.
“The fine will undoubtedly be appealed by Facebook and will likely be significantly reduced in court as we already witnessed with other major cases,” commented Ilia Kolochenko, the founder and chief executive officer of cybersecurity company ImmuniWeb. “The judicial process to get a final and enforceable decision will likely take several years. It’s very unlikely any Europeans, whose privacy rights were allegedly violated by WhatsApp, will get any compensation.”
In the U.S., Facebook is currently facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission that also involves WhatsApp. The lawsuit charges that Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, as well as its earlier purchase of Instagram, were designed to “cement its monopoly by severely hampering the ability of rivals and would-be rivals to compete.” Read Full Article
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