One important thing to note is that the DPC (Irish DPA) did not want to fine WhatsApp and only did so after being forced by other DPAs through the arbitration process.
>"We welcome the first decision by the Irish regulator. However, the DPC gets about ten thousand complaints per year since 2018 and this is the first major fine. The DPC also proposed an initial € 50 million fine and was forced by the other European data protection authorities to move towards € 225 million, which is still only 0.08% of the turnover of the Facebook Group. The GDPR foresees fines of up to 4% of the turnover. This shows how the DPC is still extremely dysfunctional."
You can consult the EDPB decision on that matter here: https://edpb.europa.eu/our-work-tools/our-documents/binding-...
EDIT: Max Schrems' reaction (NOYB):
>"We welcome the first decision by the Irish regulator. However, the DPC gets about ten thousand complaints per year since 2018 and this is the first major fine. The DPC also proposed an initial € 50 million fine and was forced by the other European data protection authorities to move towards € 225 million, which is still only 0.08% of the turnover of the Facebook Group. The GDPR foresees fines of up to 4% of the turnover. This shows how the DPC is still extremely dysfunctional."
source: https://noyb.eu/en/statement-dpc-issues-eu-225-million-fine-...