Meta’s latest fine hardly a slap in the face via IrishTimesBiz
In the third quarter of 2022, Meta reported revenue of $27.7bn and net profit of $4.4bn. File photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times“Watchdog fines company €5.5 million for regulatory breaches” is generally a pretty significant penalty. There certainly aren’t many companies in the Republic that can easily absorb such a levy.
So when the nation’s Data Protection Commission said it had penalised Meta Platform’s WhatsApp Ireland unit €5.5 million on Thursday for breaches of Europe’s data protection framework, on the face of it it may have seemed like a big enough number. Even more so as it comes on top of a €225 million fine the DPC had imposed on the company earlier this month.
Here’s the thing though. Meta is not just any company. In the third quarter of 2022, the company overall reported revenue of $27.7 billion and net profit of $4.4 billion. While that was about 52 per cent lower than the same period a year earlier, it still equates to about $47.7 million of profit every day. The company makes the equivalent of the latest DPC fine in net income in less than three hours. This isn’t a harsh penalty. This is not even the equivalent of a parking fine.
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