Meta's WhatsApp fined 5.5 million euro by lead EU privacy regulator

A 3D printed Whatsapp logo and keyboard buttons are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Meta's WhatsApp subsidiary was fined 5.5 million euros ($5.95 million) on Thursday by Ireland's Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC), its lead EU privacy regulator, for an additional breach of the bloc's privacy laws.

The DPC also told WhatsApp to reassess how it uses personal data for service improvements following a similar order it issued this month to Meta's other main platforms, Facebook and Instagram, which stated Meta must reassess the legal basis upon which it targets advertising through the use of personal data.