幸运飞行艇官方开奖记录查询 Data regulators wield big stick as GDPR fines top €1bn

GDPR might have been designed to offer EU consumers more control over their data and privacy but the past 12 months has seen the stick take over from the carrot as a means of enforcement, with fines totalling more over €1bn (£840,000) being issued, albeit with a number of appeals pending.

According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, there were 412 penalties issued in 2021, with Amazon and WhatsApp on the receiving end of the biggest fines for GDPR violations.

In fact, Amazon accounts for the bulk of the total sum, following the €746m (£636m) penalty issued by the Luxembourg’s National Commission for Data Protection in August, which is now being challenged.

Meanwhile, the Irish Data Protection Commission hit WhatsApp for €225m (£219m) over severe breaches of GDPR in September, but only after pressure from other European regulators to increase the sanction from a proposed €50m (£44m). This is also under appeal.

In 2018, when GDPR became law, a total of €436,000 in fines were issued to businesses; a year later total fines increased significantly to €72m and again in 2020, when they topped €171m.

When it comes to the regional breakdown, Spain now leads the field, taking over from the Italians who were the biggest enforcers during 2020.

The Spanish have now issued the highest number of fines, 351, worth €36.7m, with average penalty of €105,000; the Italians stand second with 101 fines, totalling €90m, and an average of €887,000. Romania ranks third on the list with a total of 68 sanctions totalling €721,000; an average of just €11,000.

Atlas VPN cybersecurity writer Vilius Kardelis said: “GDPR continues to successfully hold businesses accountable when they misuse people’s data or are ambiguous about their privacy policies. Companies have become more responsible when handling their client information to avoid hefty fines from regulators, ultimately benefiting every EU citizen.”