New Delhi: Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has been hit with a hefty fine of 310 million euros (around 335 million dollars) for privacy violations linked to its advertising tracking practices. The penalty, imposed on Thursday, highlights concerns over how the platform handles user data in its ads business.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC) imposed the fine under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The investigation focused on LinkedIn’s handling of personal data for behavioural analysis and targeted advertising of users with LinkedIn profiles.
The decision, made by the Commissioners for Data Protection, Dr Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland, concerns the lawfulness, fairness and transparency of this processing. The decision includes a reprimand, an order for LinkedIn to bring its processing into compliance, and administrative fines totalling 310 million euros, the Irish regulator said in a statement.
DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle commented that 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.
The networking platform had sought to claim (variously) “consent”, “legitimate interests” and “contractual necessity” based legal bases for processing people’s information — when obtained directly and/or from third parties — to track and profile its users for behavioural advertising.
However, the DPC found none were valid. LinkedIn also failed to comply with the GDPR principles of transparency and fairness. In a statement, LinkedIn said that the IDPC reached a final decision on claims from 2018 about “some of our digital advertising efforts in the EU”.
“While we believe we have been in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are working to ensure our ad practices meet this decision by the IDPC’s deadline,” the company said. (With IANS Inputs)
