The job networking website has been fined €310 million by Irish authorities for breaching users’ personal data in relation to targeted advertising. This is a significant setback for LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft and operates in the European market.
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) of Ireland announced the penalties, equivalent to around $335 million, following an investigation into LinkedIn’s handling of users’ personal information for personalized ads. The investigation found that LinkedIn did not have a proper legal basis for this data processing.
LinkedIn had sought user consent to share personal data with third parties for targeted advertising. However, the DPC determined that this consent was not freely given, sufficiently informed, specific, or unambiguous, failing to meet the standards set by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.
The case originated from a complaint filed in France in 2018 by a digital rights watchdog, La Quadrature du Net. The complaint targeted LinkedIn and other American tech giants for exploiting users’ personal data without proper consent.
The French DPC forwarded the complaint to its Irish counterpart due to LinkedIn’s European headquarters being based in Ireland. It took six years for Irish regulators to reach a final decision on the matter.
Graham Doyle, the Irish DPC’s deputy commissioner, emphasized that processing personal data without a proper legal basis is a serious violation of individuals’ right to data protection.
In addition to the fine, LinkedIn has been given three months to align its data processing practices with regulatory requirements. The company stated that it is working to ensure compliance by the deadline, despite believing it has been adhering to GDPR regulations.
Although the €310 million fine is lower than the $425 million initially expected by Microsoft, it still represents one of the largest penalties imposed by an EU authority on Big Tech under GDPR. This underscores the EU’s increasing focus on regulating American tech companies for data privacy and security violations.
Recent fines imposed by the Irish DPC on Meta (formerly Facebook) and its subsidiary WhatsApp further demonstrate the EU’s strict enforcement of GDPR. Meta was fined €91 million for breaches, while WhatsApp received penalties for transparency violations, highlighting the EU’s commitment to upholding digital privacy standards.
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