European data protection authorities have imposed a total of nearly 3 billion euros in fines for data breaches until January 2023 since General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in May 2018.
According to a report from DLA Piper, the use of Artificial Intelligence and behavioural advertising were among the primary areas of focus in 2022. The year saw a 50% increase from the previous year reaching an aggregate of 1.64 billion euros.
The data protection authorities of the top three countries – Ireland, Luxembourg and France – have together imposed nearly 2.5 billion euros, 85% of the total fines.
The GDPR was introduced by the European Union to ensure that personal data is collected and processed in a responsible and transparent manner, and to give individuals greater control over their own information.
In 2022, the Meta group were on the receiving end of some of the largest fines with the Irish Data Protection Commission issuing penalties against Facebook and Instagram in relation to their profiling practices.
According to the report, “the decisions against Facebook and Instagram attack the cornerstone of a grand bargain between online service providers and consumers. A reset is urgently required to restore trust, greater transparency and to preserve the many benefits of the online ecosystem. With so much at stake and as the law in this area remains very far from settled, appeals are inevitable.”
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