June 15: Biggest GDPR fines

Since the introduction of Europe's landmark online-privacy law in 2018, companies have faced some hefty penalties.

Source: CNET
Published: February 2022

Biggest GDPR fines

In 2018 the European Union introduced a data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation, which provides European internet users some of the strongest data privacy protections in the world. 

The fines for breaching the law are high - a maximum of 20 million euros or 4% of the company’s global revenue, whichever is higher. 

Here are the top 5 fines handed out so far: 

Year: 2021
Company: Amazon
Amount ($USD millions): 847
Reason: Improper customer data processing.

Year:2021
Company: WhatsApp
Amount ($USD millions): 255
Reason: Failure to communicate to users how their data is handled.

Year: 2019
Company: Google
Amount ($USD millions): 57
Reason: Failure to disclose to users how data is collected.

Year: 2020
Company: H&M
Amount ($USD millions): 41
Reason: Shared recorded meetings with rest of company without employee consent.

Year: 2020
Company: TIM
Amount ($USD millions): 32
Reason: Calling ‘do not call’ contacts.

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