Skip to main content
ConsentMark
Free Scan

Precedent corpus / DPC (Ireland)

WhatsApp Ireland Limited

DPC (Ireland) case IN-18-5-6, decided . EUR 5.5M.

ContextAppeal status not checked

We have not checked whether this decision was appealed. This is not a statement that no appeal exists.

No ConsentMark grade rests on this decision. It is published here because it is relevant enforcement, not because it bears on what a browser does before consent.

What the regulator decided

WhatsApp could not lawfully rely on Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (necessity for performance of a contract) as the legal basis for processing personal data for service-improvement and security purposes; the forced-acceptance presentation of the May 2018 Terms of Service did not provide a freely-given consent under Article 6(1)(a) either, breaching the lawfulness and transparency principles of Article 5 GDPR.

Archived snapshot

Wayback Machine snapshot of the primary source. Use this when the regulator URL might be refactored or expire.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240529211629/https://www.dataprotection.ie/sites/default/files/uploads/2023-04/WhatsApp%20FINAL%20DECISION%20(adoption%20version)%20Redacted.pdf

ConsentMark interpretation

Operator-readable note on how this case shapes the ConsentMark scanner narrative. Not a legal opinion; cites the primary source.

The DPC initially accepted WhatsApp's contractual-necessity argument for service improvements; the EDPB Article 65 binding decision required the position to be reversed. Cite when a service uses a forced-acceptance Terms of Service to bundle marketing-or-analytics processing into "necessary for the service".

Verification trail

Checked against the primary source on 27th May 2026. Next review 27th November 2026.

Cite this case
BibTeX
@misc{consentmark-precedent-dpc-in-18-5-6,
  author       = {{ConsentMark}},
  year         = {2023},
  title        = {DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-6 - WhatsApp Ireland Limited},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-6}},
  note         = {ConsentMark methodology v7.8.1}
}
APA
ConsentMark. (2023, January 12). DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-6 - WhatsApp Ireland Limited. Methodology v7.8.1. https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-6
Markdown
[DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-6 - WhatsApp Ireland Limited - ConsentMark](https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-6)
Plain text
DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-6 - WhatsApp Ireland Limited - ConsentMark, 2023-01-12, methodology v7.8.1, https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-6