14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of days ago, WhatsApp creators said during a conference in California that they were committed to user privacy, when asked about the decision to share user data with Facebook. They stated that the measure was taken in order to use Facebook’s spam-detection system and that WhatsApp doesn’t collect user data.
In August this year, WhatsApp made the decision to update its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which would mark the first change to user privacy policies in four years. Many governmental officials have stated their concern over the fact that WhatsApp would share user phone numbers with Facebook.
Officials in Germany ordered Facebook to delete German user data shared from WhatsApp and the Delhi Court from India asked the same for users who opted out of the policy. Some have even said that WhatsApp intends to share even more detailed user information, like contacts, profile pictures, and even status messages.
EU officials will look into changes brought to WhatsApp’s privacy policy
Officials from the European Union have decided to take a stand and ordered Facebook to stop processing user data from WhatsApp during an ongoing investigation on the privacy policy changes announced back in August.
Privacy chiefs from across EU wrote Article 29 Working Party in which they expressed their concerns over WhatsApp sharing user data with Facebook for a purpose that wasn’t included in the terms of service when current users signed up for the app.
WhatsApp stated for Bloomberg that “We’re working with data protection authorities to address their questions.” Representatives from the Facebook-owned app added, “We’ve had constructive conversations, including before our update, and we remain committed to respecting applicable law.”
This isn’t the only investigation currently being conducted by EU officials on tech giants. Google may also receive a fine from the European Union regarding its supposed anti-competitive practices on Android. In 2018, the EU is expected to enforce a new set of regulations that state penalties of up to 4% of the company’s global annual sales.