WhatsApp Fined $266 Million Over Data Transparency Breaches (1)

Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp was ordered to pay a 225 million-euro ($266 million) penalty for failing to be transparent about how it handled personal information, its first fine under beefed-up European Union data protection law.

The Irish Data Protection Commission -- Silicon Valley’s main privacy watchdog in Europe -- said it found violations in the way WhatsApp explained how it processed users’ and non-users’ data, as well as how data was shared between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies.

The fine comes weeks after Amazon.com Inc. was hit with a record 746 million-euro penalty in Luxembourg, where it has its European ...