WhatsApp has been fined AUD$360.57 million for a 2018 breach of the European Union’s data privacy rules.

Under the ruling, made by the Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, WhatsApp was found to have not properly informed users how it uses their personal data, including the sharing of this with its parent company, Google.

WhatsApp fell foul for Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into effect in May of 2018, with WhatsApp found to be in breach of the GDPR shortly after. This July, Amazon was fined $1.2 billion for a similar breach.

The company is disputed the finding.

“WhatsApp is committed to providing a secure and private service. We have worked to ensure the information we provide is transparent and comprehensive and will continue to do so,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

“We disagree with the decision today regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are entirely disproportionate.”