Facebook Inc. received one of its biggest regulatory slaps last week when European antitrust regulators fined it $122 million for providing misleading statements about its 2014 purchase of WhatsApp.
The fine is relatively small compared to Facebook’s annual profits—the Menlo Park, California-based social media giant pulled in more than $10 billion in profit in 2016—but it does signal a more aggressive regulatory environment in the region. The same week Facebook received its European Commission fine, French and Dutch regulators claimed the company broke local data protection rules. French regulators levied a much smaller fine to the company of 150,000 euros, or about $167,000 at Tuesday’s rate of exchange.
