According to CoinMeta, Norway's data protection regulator imposed a fine of 92 million Norwegian kroner (approximately 9.6 million US dollars) on Microsoft's advertising department for sharing sensitive data of users with advertisers without legal authorization. This fine represents the largest penalty ever imposed by the regulator on the company. The regulator stated that the data in question could reveal users' sexual orientations. This decision brings to an end a case that had lasted for over six years in Norway. In this case, Microsoft was deemed to bear joint responsibility for data processing with another entity, rather than acting merely as an intermediary. The regulator pointed out that Microsoft failed to obtain the necessary user consent, and the direct economic benefits it derived from the data sharing were also a significant factor in the fine determination.