German data protection authorities on
Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data
from its subsidiary WhatsApp, citing privacy concerns.
Facebook and WhatsApp promised in the
wake of the Silicon Valley giant’s 2014 acquisition of the messaging app
that they would not share data, Hamburg’s Commissioner for Data
Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar recalled in a
statement.
He added that Facebook would be required to delete any data already received from WhatsApp in Germany.
“It has to be (the users’) decision
whether they want to connect their account with Facebook,” Caspar said.
“Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance.”
WhatsApp announced in August that it
would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better
targeted advertising and fight spam on the platform.
Currently, users of the instant
messenger must opt out of sending information to Facebook through
WhatsApp’s settings on their smartphone.
Caspar said that he had acted to protect
the privacy of 35 million WhatsApp users in Germany — a fraction of
some one billion worldwide — and that of people saved in their address
books, whose details might also be forwarded under the data-sharing
arrangement.
Facebook’s activities in German-speaking
regions are managed through its subsidiary in Hamburg, placing the firm
under the jurisdiction of the regulator in the northern port city.
Spokespeople for Facebook could not immediately be reached for comment on the ruling.
WhatsApp’s announcement that it would
share information with Facebook came just four months after the service
introduced end-to-end encryption by default, saying that the content of
messages would become unreadable for anyone except the sender and
receiver.
In mid-September, the European
Commission recommended tighter privacy and security requirements for
services including WhatsApp and Microsoft-owned video calling service
Skype, saying they should be regulated more like traditional telecoms.
Subjecting the internet firms to such
rules could force them to offer emergency calling services and to obey
stricter privacy rules.
AFP
Title :
Germany blocks WhatsApp data transfers to Facebook
Description : German data protection authorities on Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from its subsidiary Wha...
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