LinkedIn hit with 310 million euro fine for data privacy violations from Irish watchdog

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators have slapped LinkedIn with a 310 million euro fine for violations of the bloc’s stringent data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission reprimanded the Microsoft-owned professional social networking site on Thursday over concerns about the “lawfulness, fairness and transparency” of its personal data processing for advertising purposes. The Dublin-based watchdog is LinkedIn’s lead privacy regulator in the 27-nation EU. The watchdog said its investigation found LinkedIn did not have a lawful basis to gather data so it could target users with online ads. LinkedIn said it it believes it has been “in compliance” with the rules, but is working to ensure its “ad practices” meet the requirements.