The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has fined Microsoft-operated career portal LinkedIn €310 million. The Higher Regional Court of Cologne ruled that LinkedIn's processing of personal data violates the European Union's strict data protection and security regulations.

The investigation began in 2018 after the Irish Data Protection Commission reviewed LinkedIn's data processing with regard to behavioral analysis and targeted advertising based on a complaint from a non-profit organization. The Irish authorities expressed significant concerns about the legality, fairness, and transparency of data use. "The legality of processing is a fundamental aspect of data protection law, and processing personal data without an adequate legal basis is a clear and serious infringement of the data protection rights of individuals," stated Graham Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of the Irish Data Protection Commission.

The court found that LinkedIn did not sufficiently inform users when obtaining their consent to process third-party data for behavioral analysis and targeted advertising. This lack of transparency violates the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). LinkedIn responded by stating that the company is working to align its advertising practices with the decision, although it believes there are no violations of the GDPR.

This decision follows just under a month after a similar conviction of Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, with a fine of 91 million euros. Meta Platforms was accused of storing social media users' passwords on internal systems without adequate security measures.

The heavy fines underscore the strict enforcement of data protection laws by the EU and signal to companies the necessity of making their data processing transparent and compliant with the law. For LinkedIn, the fine represents a significant financial burden and increases the pressure to improve data protection standards.