IRELAND’S Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined LinkedIn €310 million.
The organisation announced today that a final decision had been made following an inquiry into the social media platform.
DPC launched their investigation after a complaint was made to the French Data Protection Authority regarding LinkedIn’s processing of personal data.
LinkedIn’s headquarters are in Dublin, which makes Ireland’s DPC the main supervisory authority for the firm.
The inquiry, which began in 2018, examined the platform’s use of such data for the purposes of behavioural analysis and targeted advertising of users who have created LinkedIn profiles.
The decision, which was made by the Commissioners for Data Protection, Dr Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland, and notified to LinkedIn on October 22, 2024, found the firm had breached elements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relating to the lawfulness, fairness and transparency of its data processing.
“The lawfulness of processing is a fundamental aspect of data protection law and the processing of personal data without an appropriate legal basis is a clear and serious violation of a data subjects’ fundamental right to data protection,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said.
As well as a reprimand and an order for LinkedIn to bring its processing into compliance, the decision requires the platform to pay administrative fines totalling €310 million.
The DPC will publish the full decision in due course.