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Germany halts Facebook sharing WhatsApp data
3D printed Facebook and WhatsApp logos and keyboard buttons are placed on a computer motherboard. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
11 May 2021 07:20PM (Updated:
11 May 2021 07:21PM) Share this content
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BERLIN: A German regulator on Tuesday (May 11) slapped a three-month ban on Facebook collecting user data from WhatsApp accounts and referred the case to an EU watchdog, citing concerns about election integrity.
The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, which has jurisdiction because Facebook s German branch is based in the city, sent the order to the social network which owns the popular messaging service.
Facebook ordered not to apply controversial WhatsApp T&Cs in Germany
The Hamburg data protection agency has banned Facebook from processing the additional WhatsApp user data that the tech giant is granting itself access to under a mandatory update to WhatsApp’s terms of service.
The controversial WhatsApp privacy policy update has caused widespread confusion around the world since being announced and already been delayed by Facebook for several months after a major user backlash saw rivals messaging apps benefitting from an influx of angry users.
Globally, WhatsApp users have until May 15 to accept the new terms (after which the requirement to accept the T&Cs update will become persistent, per a WhatsApp FAQ).
German watchdog bans Facebook from using WhatsApp users data
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04:41 PM
The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HmbBfDI) has banned Facebook today from processing WhatsApp user data for the next three months.
The order issued today by the HmbBfDI, one of Germany s data protection commissioners, comes after WhatsApp said that it will slowly restrict account features for users who refuse to give up control of their data and have it shared with Facebook companies starting May 15th, 2021.
With last week s policy update, WhatsApp backpedaled on a previous decision that gave users a jarring ultimatum to delete their accounts if they don t agree to share their data with Facebook.
Facebook banned from processing WhatsApp user data in Germany
A German regulator said WhatsApp s new privacy policy is illegal Writer at Neural by TNW â Thomas covers AI in all its iterations. Likes Werner Herzog films and Arsenal FC. Writer at Neural by TNW â Thomas covers AI in all its iterations. Likes Werner Herzog films and Arsenal FC.
A German data regulator has banned Facebook from processing personal data from WhatsApp users in the country, saying that the appâs controversial new privacy policy update is illegal.
The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HmbBfDI) issued a three-month emergency ban on Tuesday, which is permitted under the General Data Protection Regulation. The watchdog will now seek a binding decision covering the whole EU from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB).
German watchdog bans Facebook from processing WhatsApp data
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FILE - This Friday, March 10, 2017 file photo shows the WhatsApp communications app on a smartphone, in New York. A German privacy regulator banned Facebook on Tuesday May 11, 2021, from gathering data on WhatsApp users, citing an update to its privacy policy that breaches stringent European data protection rules by allowing access to a lot more information on the chat app s users. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)
LONDON (AP) – A German privacy watchdog banned Facebook on Tuesday from gathering data on users of its WhatsApp chat app, citing an update to its privacy policy that it said breaches stringent European data protection rules.