Facebook may face larger fine after data protection complaint referred to EU board

Facebook may face larger fine after data protection complaint referred to EU board

Facebook could be slapped with a much larger fine over a data protection complaint following its referral by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB).

The Irish regulator last August proposed a fine in the range of €28 million to €36 million following a complaint submitted in 2018 by Noyb, a campaigning group led by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems.

Following objections from a number of data protection authorities, the Irish DPC referred the case to the EDPB — which acts as a dispute resolution body in these cases — in the past few days, according to The Irish Times.

The EDPB has previously forced the Irish DPC to significantly increase fines imposed on big tech companies.

WhatsApp, which is also owned by Facebook owner Meta Platforms, was fined a record €225 million last year after the EDPB told the Irish DPC to increase its planned fine of €30 million to €50 million.

The Irish DPC’s draft decision on the Schrems complaint proposes a fine between €28 million and €36 million, which could be increased considerably following the EDPB’s consideration.

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