WhatsApp in Line for Fine as Data Watchdogs Resolve Dispute

  • EU data protection board resolves dispute over Irish draft
  • Some EU privacy regulators saw proposed Irish fine as too low
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
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Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp is facing its first fine under the European Union’s strict data protection rules, after the bloc’s privacy watchdogs resolved a dispute over a draft decision by the lead EU data regulator.

The European Data Protection Board, a panel of EU data authorities, cleared the way for the Irish Data Protection Commission to take a final decision in a probe into WhatsApp’s data-sharing transparency in a decision on Wednesday. An initial draft had stumbled over several objections by EU counterparts, including “the appropriateness of the envisaged corrective measures.”