Popular networking platform, LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, was accused of targeted advertising by Ireland’s Data Protection and therefore fined a staggering amount of money as punishment.
The company was said to be involved in the processing of users’ personal information to target them accordingly with ads on the app. This penalty will come with an investigation into how fair and lawful the practice was when data was processed.
It all began with a complaint from the French non-profit La Quadrature company a few years back. As per the DPC, the app failed to meet the standards to get the consent of users. The list of articles the company breached was also outlined as per the GDPR. This includes failing to get third-party consent, using its legitimate rights and overtaking users’ rights, invalid data processing, and not being transparent about its activities. It also violated fairness principles by processing data in a way users didn’t understand.
This is why it’s now getting orders to be more transparent about its workings so they are compliant with the EU’s legal requirements. This will come with a whopping $335M fine (or €310 Million to be exact).
As a whole, LinkedIn was fined with three administrative fines. The full decision would be published later on and entails all details regarding the app’s data practice findings.
LinkedIn tried to respond to media outlets’ requests for comments. It spoke about assuming they were in compliance with the GDPR but now after seeing all of this, it’s changing its practices. It will work on bettering ad systems so it’s more compliant with the regulation.
The company’s spokesperson says it was never aware that it was violating the GDPR but it hopes to bring changes as outlined by regulators before the stated deadline.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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The company was said to be involved in the processing of users’ personal information to target them accordingly with ads on the app. This penalty will come with an investigation into how fair and lawful the practice was when data was processed.
It all began with a complaint from the French non-profit La Quadrature company a few years back. As per the DPC, the app failed to meet the standards to get the consent of users. The list of articles the company breached was also outlined as per the GDPR. This includes failing to get third-party consent, using its legitimate rights and overtaking users’ rights, invalid data processing, and not being transparent about its activities. It also violated fairness principles by processing data in a way users didn’t understand.
This is why it’s now getting orders to be more transparent about its workings so they are compliant with the EU’s legal requirements. This will come with a whopping $335M fine (or €310 Million to be exact).
As a whole, LinkedIn was fined with three administrative fines. The full decision would be published later on and entails all details regarding the app’s data practice findings.
LinkedIn tried to respond to media outlets’ requests for comments. It spoke about assuming they were in compliance with the GDPR but now after seeing all of this, it’s changing its practices. It will work on bettering ad systems so it’s more compliant with the regulation.
The company’s spokesperson says it was never aware that it was violating the GDPR but it hopes to bring changes as outlined by regulators before the stated deadline.
Read next: A Long-Awaited WhatsApp Update Just Made Reactions So Much Easier!
