LinkedIn gets fined €310 million for breaching the EU - GDPR

The Irish Data Protection Authority (DPC) has fined LinkedIn €310 million after concluding that the social network's processing of personal data by its users does not comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

As expressed in a statement by DPC, the Irish entity began an investigation following a complaint initially filed with the Data Protection Authority of France. In addition to the fine of 310 million euros, the DPC has issued an order for LinkedIn to bring its processing of personal data into line with EU regulations.

In this context, the Irish authority concludes that LinkedIn's processing of personal data was not based on the consent of the social network's users for third parties to process their data to analyze their behavior and be recipients of targeted advertising.

“The consent obtained by LinkedIn was not freely given, sufficiently informed or specific, “ says the agency, adding that ‘the lawfulness of the processing is a fundamental aspect of data protection law and processing without an adequate legal basis constitutes a clear and serious breach of the data subject'sfundamental right to data protection.’

For its part, LinkedIn has indicated that, while it believes it has complied with the General Data Protection Regulation, it is working to ensure that its advertising practices are compliant with the European regulation before the CPD deadline.

This is the sixth significant fine issued for GDPR breaches. The largest was a €1.55 billion penalty imposed on Meta by the Irish DPC in 2023.

TikTok was also fined by the EU 

In 2023, European regulators placed upon TikTok a €345 million fine for failing to protect children's privacy. It was the first time the popular short video-sharing app was punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules.

In this case, Ireland's Data Protection Commission said it was fining TikTok and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating back to the second half of 2020.

The Commission's investigation also found that the default settings posed a risk to children under 13 who had gained access to the platform despite being underage.

In addition, the Commission ruled that a 'family pairing' feature designed for parents to manage settings was not strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent.