The Netherlands' privacy regulator fined Netflix 4.57 million euros ($4.8 million), saying that the streaming platform didn't give users adequate information on how it processes their personal data.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority said Wednesday that the U.S. company didn't give customers enough information about how their data is handled between 2018 and 2020 in its privacy statements and in responses to requests for further information on how that data is used. The information the company did provide at the time wasn't clear, the watchdog said.

The DPA said the company broke the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, a rulebook that took effect in 2018 that imposes strict guard rails on how companies store and manage user data such as email addresses, age or other personal details.

Netflix claimed it is now compliant with the rules and that the DPA's stringent enforcement of the rules adds to legal uncertainty for the company, according to a document published by the regulator.

The regulator said Netflix gave too little and unclear information on a number of points such as why it collects personal data, how long it holds onto it and what data it shares with third parties.

"A company like that, with a turnover of billions and millions of customers worldwide, has to explain properly to its customers how it handles their personal data," Aleid Wolfsen, chairman of the Dutch DPA, said.

The Dutch DPA started investigating Netflix after a complaint from Austrian privacy campaign group None of Your Business.

A Netflix spokesperson said the company objected to the decision. The spokesperson said Netflix cooperated with the DPA since the start of the investigation and that it has improved its privacy information to provide further clarity to its users.