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.

Doron Goldstein, partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman and co-head of the firm's privacy, data and cybersecurity practice, spoke with reporter David Ruiz about what the European Commission's fine means for American companies, private practice lawyers and corporate expansion into Europe. He also spoke about how Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—data protection rules currently rolling out across the several member-states—plays a role in more aggressive enforcement efforts.