As of January 2025, the most significant data privacy violation fine worldwide was for social media giant Meta. In May 2023, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) of Ireland decided to fine the company with 1.2 billion euros or 1.3 billion U.S. dollars. The Chinese vehicle-for rent company Didi Global ranked second. In July 2022, China's data privacy regulator fined the company 8.026 billion Chinese yuan, or 1.19 billion U.S. dollars. The 2021 Amazon fine issued by Luxembourg's data privacy regulation authorities was 877 million U.S. dollars and was the third-biggest data breach fine as of the measured month. The 2019 fine of 575 million U.S. dollars to Equifax followed. In this incident, because of unpatched vulnerabilities, nearly 150 million people were affected, which caused the American consumer credit reporting agency to pay at least 575 million U.S. dollars.

Since the EU's implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, numerous fines have been issued for violations or non-compliance. Of these, the fine of 1.2 billion euros received by Meta Platforms, Inc. in May 2023 has been by far the greatest. The company was issued such a penalty for personal data transfers to the United States without sufficiently complying with the EU regulation.

Since the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, fines have been issued for several types of violations. As of February 2025, the most significant share of penalties was due to companies' non-compliance with general data processing principles. This violation has led to over 2.4 billion euros worth of fines.

In September 2024, the Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta Ireland 91 million euros after passwords of social media users were stored in 'plaintext' on Meta's internal systems rather than with cryptographic protection or encryption. In May 2023, the EU fined Meta 1.2 billion euros for violating laws on digital privacy and putting the data of EU citizens at risk through Facebook's EU-U.S. data transfers. European privacy legislation is seen as being far stricter than American privacy law, and the sending of EU citizens’ data to the United States resulted in the record breaking penalty being issued to the tech giant. In January 2023, after it was discovered that Meta Platforms had improperly required that users of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp accept personalized adverts to use the platforms, the company was issued a 390 million euro fine by the European Commission. EU regulators claim that the social media giant broke the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by including the demand in its terms of service. In addition, Meta was fined 405 million euros by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) in September 2022 for violating Instagram's children's privacy settings. In November 2022, the DPC fined Meta a further 265 million euros for failing to protect their users from data scraping. GDPR violations in 2022 Social media sites and companies are not the only types of online services upon which users' data can potentially be compromised. In 2022, the online service with the biggest fine for violating GDPR was e-commerce and digital powerhouse Amazon, which was issued a 746 million euro fine. Furthermore, in December 2021, Google was penalized 90 million euros for GDPR violations. What are the most common GDPR violations? Since GDPR went into effect in May 2018, fines have been imposed for a variety of reasons. As of June 2022, companies' non-compliance with general data processing principles accounted for the largest share of fines, resulting in over 845 million euros worth of penalties. Insufficient legal basis for data processing was the second most common violation, amounting to 447 million euros in fines.

As of February 2025, the largest fine issued for violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the United Kingdom (UK) was more than 22 million euros, received by British Airways in October 2020. Another fine received by Marriott International Inc. in the same month was the second-highest in the UK and amounted to over 20 million euros.

As of January 2025, three organizations had received fines under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for transferring data outside the European Union. The highest penalty, with the amount of 1.2 billion euros, was imposed on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited by the Irish data privacy authority Data Protection Commission (DPC). The latest case of privacy complaint was on the 16th of January, 2025. In its complaint, the Austrian data privacy non-profit None of Your Business (noyb) addressed the data transfers from European Union by a few Chinese companies, including TikTok, AliExpress, SHEIN, Temu, WeChat, and Xiaomi. As of late January 2025, the case was ongoing and the amount of fine is not available.

This data set includes information on all civil penalty actions under the Consumer Protection Mission brought by the Federal Trade Commission from fiscal year 2000 to first quarter of fiscal year 2018.

As of June 2023, Spain was the European country to issue the largest number of GDPR violation fines - over 650. Italy followed, with the local authorities dispensing approximately 265 fines under the European Union general data protection regulation (GDPR). Applied from May 2018 onward, the GDPR is Europe's data protection law, and it is enforced within all the EU Member States.

Washington law requires entities impacted by a data breach to notify the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) when more than 500 Washingtonians personal information was compromised as a result of the breach. This dataset breaks out the individual types of breached personal information that were identified in each notice our office received. This data is used to produce the AGO’s Annual Data Breach Report. For additional statistics relating to data breaches, also see the main dataset at: https://data.wa.gov/Consumer-Protection/Data-Breach-Notifications-Affecting-Washington-Res/sb4j-ca4h.

According to research conducted in October 2023, one-third of GDPR fines imposed against leading social media platforms were for misuse of children's data. The study found that Instagram saw the highest amount of fines for violating children's data privacy online, receiving 405 million euros of fines between May 2018 and October 2023. TikTok followed, with all its fines in the research period containing violation of children's online privacy.

Data Privacy Management Software Tools Market size was valued at USD 1.05 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 2.82 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 13.80% from 2024 to 2031.

Global Data Privacy Management Software Tools Market Drivers

Tighter Privacy Laws: The adoption of strong data privacy management tools has become necessary as a result of the introduction and enforcement of stricter data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, and other similar regulations globally. Organisations are compelled to invest in complete data privacy solutions by these requirements, which levy steep fines for noncompliance.

Global Regulatory Expansion: New and updated privacy regulations are being introduced by nations all over the world. Multinational corporations must implement scalable privacy management solutions that can handle compliance across several jurisdictions in light of the worldwide trend towards tougher data privacy rules.

GDPR Solutions Market size is growing at a faster pace with substantial growth rates over the last few years and is estimated that the market will grow significantly in the forecasted period i.e. 2021 to 2028.

Global GDPR Solutions Market Drivers

The market drivers for the GDPR Solutions Market can be influenced by various factors. These may include:

Growing Concerns About Data Privacy: In order to ensure compliance with data protection requirements, there is an increased need for GDPR solutions due to growing consumer and company awareness of data privacy.
Tight Regulating Guidelines: Organizations are compelled to provide comprehensive solutions in order to avoid significant fines and legal penalties resulting from the global application of GDPR and related data protection legislation.
An increase in cybersecurity threats and data breaches: In order to safeguard personal data and uphold customer confidence, businesses must adopt strong GDPR solutions due to the growing frequency and complexity of data breaches.
Cloud adoption and digital transformation: The requirement for GDPR solutions to manage and safeguard data across multiple platforms and environments has increased due to the broad adoption of cloud services and digital transformation projects.
Demands for Control and Transparency of Data: Organizations are being forced to implement GDPR solutions that offer procedures for data access, correction, and deletion as a result of consumer demands for increased transparency and control over their personal data.
Extending the Range of Data Processing and Collection:The deployment of GDPR solutions is required to secure data privacy and compliance due to the exponential development in data collecting and processing activities driven by technologies such as IoT, AI, and big data analytics.
Managing Reputational Risk: Businesses are adopting GDPR solutions at a faster rate as they realize how crucial it is to preserve their reputation by proving that they are compliant.
The necessity of effective data management techniques: GDPR solutions facilitate the streamlining of an organization’s data management procedures while guaranteeing that data is correctly classified, preserved, and safeguarded in compliance with legal requirements.
Globalization of Enterprises: Businesses must abide by numerous data protection laws, including GDPR, as they grow internationally. This has increased demand for all-inclusive GDPR solutions that meet different regulatory needs.
Technological Progress: Advances in GDPR solutions, such AI-driven analytics, automated compliance tools, and sophisticated encryption technologies, are increasing the efficacy and efficiency of data security initiatives and driving market expansion.

Decisions taken by the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection and its Director are provided for in the following Laws: — The Unfair Commercial Practices of Enterprises to Consumers Law — The Laws on Abuse Clauses in Consumer Contracts — The General Product Safety Laws — The Basic Requirements to be met by Specific Product Categories Laws

The Italian electricity provider Enel Energia was fined 79.1 million euros by Italy's data privacy regulator, marking the highest fine ever issued in the country since the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018. Prior to this, the most significant fine was imposed in January 2020, when the telecommunications company Telecom Italia (TIM) was penalized 27.8 million euros, making it the second-largest GDPR-related fine in Italy.

The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) software market is experiencing robust growth, driven by increasing regulatory compliance needs (like GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and the rising awareness of data privacy among organizations globally. The market, estimated at $2 billion in 2025, is projected to experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15% from 2025 to 2033, reaching an estimated market value of $7 billion by 2033. This growth is fueled by the expanding adoption of cloud-based solutions, offering scalability and cost-effectiveness compared to on-premises deployments. Large enterprises are currently the dominant segment, but the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) segment is showing significant growth potential due to increased regulatory pressure and the availability of affordable and user-friendly PIA software solutions. Key market trends include the integration of AI and machine learning for automated PIA processes, the rise of specialized solutions addressing specific industry needs (healthcare, finance, etc.), and a growing focus on data security and risk management features within PIA software. Competitive pressures are also shaping the market, with established players and new entrants constantly innovating to meet evolving client demands. Despite the significant growth potential, challenges remain. The high initial investment costs for implementing PIA software can deter some smaller organizations. Furthermore, the complexity of data privacy regulations and the need for specialized expertise in implementing and managing these systems pose a barrier to entry. The market also faces challenges in integrating PIA processes with existing security and compliance frameworks. However, the increasing regulatory fines for non-compliance are significantly incentivizing organizations to invest in sophisticated PIA software, suggesting the market will continue its upward trajectory in the foreseeable future. The North American market currently holds the largest market share, followed by Europe, with Asia-Pacific showing significant growth potential in the coming years.

People pay fines for violations of environmental protection laws and regulations and other relevant notes

The global Privacy Compliance Consulting Services market is experiencing robust growth, driven by increasing data privacy regulations worldwide and the rising awareness of data security risks among businesses. The market size in 2025 is estimated at $7,946.5 million. While the provided CAGR is missing, considering the rapid advancements in data privacy legislation (like GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and the escalating cyber threats, a conservative estimate of the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) between 2025 and 2033 could be 12%. This projection accounts for the continuous evolution of data privacy regulations and the increasing demand for specialized consulting services to ensure compliance. Key market drivers include the expanding digital landscape, heightened regulatory scrutiny, and the need for organizations to protect sensitive customer data to maintain reputation and avoid hefty fines. The market is segmented by type (Data Risk Assessment, Privacy Training, Multinational Business Privacy Consulting, Others) and application (Consumer Electronics, IT, Automotive, Others), reflecting the diverse needs of various industries. North America currently holds a significant market share due to the early adoption of stringent data privacy regulations and a high concentration of technology companies. However, growing awareness and regulatory changes in other regions, particularly Europe and Asia Pacific, are fueling substantial growth in these areas. The competitive landscape is populated by a mix of large multinational consulting firms (IBM, PwC, EY, KPMG) and specialized data privacy consulting companies (TrustArc, Protiviti, Secureworks). These firms offer a comprehensive suite of services, including risk assessments, compliance audits, training programs, and remediation strategies. The increasing complexity of data privacy regulations creates a high barrier to entry, fostering a competitive yet stable market environment. Further market expansion is anticipated due to the growing adoption of cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and the increasing reliance on data analytics, each requiring robust data privacy strategies. The evolving threat landscape, with new types of cyberattacks emerging regularly, also continues to drive demand for specialized expertise in data privacy compliance. Future growth will depend on factors such as the evolution of data privacy laws, the adoption of new technologies, and the ability of consulting firms to adapt to the ever-changing landscape.

GDPR Services Market size was valued at USD 1.6 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 7.3 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 22.45% from 2024 to 2031.

Global GDPR Services Market Drivers

Increased Regulatory Enforcement: Stricter enforcement of the GDPR by regulatory authorities has increased the pressure on organizations to comply with its provisions.
Data Breaches and Fines: The significant fines imposed on organizations that violate GDPR have raised awareness of the risks associated with non-compliance.
Consumer Awareness and Data Privacy Concerns: Consumers are becoming more aware of their data privacy rights and are demanding greater transparency and control over their personal information.

Global GDPR Services Market Restraints

High Costs: Implementing GDPR compliance measures can be expensive, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Complexity and Overwhelm: The GDPR is a complex regulation, and organizations may struggle to understand and implement all its requirements.
Lack of Internal Expertise: Many organizations may lack the necessary in-house expertise to ensure GDPR compliance.

Since the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, the most significant fine issued in France was against Google LLC. The French data privacy regulator imposed this fine in December 2021 after receiving several complaints regarding cookie policies on the websites google.fr and youtube.com. Overall, among the ten highest fines issued for GDPR violations, three involved Google.

NOTE: This dataset reflects data as of 7/21/2023. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is working on an updated version of this dataset.

Payments received from businesses for DCWP fines and fees such as violations and license application fees.