Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp user data

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The German data protection agency has ordered Facebook to stop collecting user data from its WhatsApp messenger app and delete any data it has already received. The social network announced in August that it would begin sharing data from its 1 billion-plus user base, including phone numbers, from WhatsApp users with Facebook for the purpose of targeted ads. It gave users the option of opting out of the data being used for advertising purposes, but did not allow them to opt out of the data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook.

Hamburg’s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar ruled that Facebook “neither has obtained an effective approval from the WhatsApp users, nor does a legal basis for the data reception exist”. “It has to be [the users’] decision whether they want to connect their account with Facebook. Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance.” Caspar also recalled that in the wake of Facebook’s 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp it had promised that they would not share user data.


Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp user data