Just € 5,5 Million on WhatsApp. DPC finally gives the finger to EDPB.

WhatsApp faces € 5.5 million fine, as DPC limits the scope of the case against WhatsApp and rejects the EDPB request to investigate matters like data sharing within Meta. As confirmed by the Irish DPC today, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has decided that Meta cannot force WhatsApp users to agree to the use of their data for "service improvements" and "security". The core matter of data use for "the purposes of behavioural advertising, for marketing purposes, as well as for the provision of metrics to third parties and the exchange of data with affiliated companies " were not dealt with by the Irish DPC - despite a binding decision of the EDPB that these matters must be investigated. The decision comes 4,5 years after the original complaints were filed by noyb, on Meta's bypass of the GDPR via a clause in the terms and conditions. Explainer video on Meta's bypass (from December 2022) Blogpost on decisions on Facebook and Instagram Original complaints by noyb from 2018 Final