Within a month, WhatsApp, Facebook’s messaging platform, will find out how high the fines imposed by the Irish Data Protection Authority are for violating the European Union’s data protection framework. The European Union Data Protection Authority has made this clear in a specific decision.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) on Wednesday (July 28) set a one-month deadline for a long-awaited decision. Oversees all national data protection authorities in EU member states.

The order mainly follows criticism of various data protection organizations over the draft decision of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC). The WhatsApp case is the responsibility of the Irish Authority as the company is headquartered in Europe, Ireland.

The IDPC was investigating the messaging service for allegedly violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In particular, this applies to the question of what data is shared on Facebook, the parent company of Whatsapp.

Several consumer organizations have recently filed a separate complaint against WhatsApp, alleging that the messaging platform has repeatedly asked them to accept new data protection guidelines without explicitly explaining their impact on the processing of personal data.

“We welcome EDPB’s decision and hope that the Irish Authority will now act swiftly against Whatsapp, which still does not comply with data protection regulations,” said Mariant Fernandez Perez, senior digital policy officer at BEUC’s European Consumer Organization.

A WhatsApp spokesperson announced that it would “continue to work with IDCP and wait for its final decision”.

IDPC now has one month. The first draft verdict was shared in December 2020 with colleagues across the European Union. This was done in accordance with GDPR procedures. In addition, there was a procedural complaint from Whatsapp, which delayed the investigation and the final announcement of the verdict.

[Hinweis: Dies ist eine gekürzte Übersetzung. Den Originalartikel in voller Länge (auf Englisch) finden Sie hier. Bearbeitet von Josie Le Blond]

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