A German regulator ordered Facebook to stop processing data on its citizens via the messaging service WhatsApp.
The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, or HmbBfDI, said on Tuesday, May 11, that it has issued an injunction that prevents Facebook from processing personal data from WhatsApp.
Facebook stated that it is considering to file an appeal.
Facebook’s WhatsApp Gets Three-Month Ban
Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant has been looking for new ways to monetize WhatsApp, which is used by more than 60 million people in Germany alone, ever since Facebook acquired the platform for $19 billion in 2014.
In the latest move, WhatsApp users around the world have been invited to agree to new terms of use and privacy that gives the platform wide-ranging powers to share data with Facebook.
WhatsApp users are being told to agree to the new terms by May 15 if they want to continue using the app, which now competes with other platforms like Telegram and Signal, according to Reuters.
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The majority of WhatsApp users who have received the new terms of service and privacy policy have accepted the update, Facebook stated.
However, the update done by WhatsApp is not legal at all, according to Johannes Caspar, the head of the HmbBfDI. He has issued a three-month emergency order that prevents Facebook from continuing with WhatsApp data processing in Germany.
Caspar said that the order is intended to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the many millions of users throughout Germany who gave their consent to the terms of use. He added that it is important to prevent disadvantages and damages associated with such a black box procedure.
Furthermore, Caspar said that the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the data leak that affected more than 500 million Facebook users show that the scale and dangers posed by mass profiling, adding that profiles of the users can be used to manipulate democratic decisions.
Ban on All 27 EU Member States
The head of the HmbBfDI added that the order now issued refers to the further processing of WhatsApp user data and the global criticism of the new terms of use should give rise to a fundamental rethink of the consent mechanism. He said that without the trust of the users, no data-based business model can be successful in the future.
Caspar also urged a panel of European Union data regulators to follow suit, so the ban applies to all of the 27 EU members states, Bloomberg reported.
A spokesperson for WhatsApp said that the Hamburg Data Protection Authority’s order against Facebook is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose and effect of WhatsApp’s update and therefore has no legitimate basis.
According to CNBC, the spokesperson further said that their recent update explains the options people have to message a business on WhatsApp and provides further transparency about how they collect and sue data.
The spokesperson said that the Hamburg DPA’s claims are wrong, the order will not impact the continued roll-out of the update and that they will remain fully committed to deliver secure and private communications for everyone.
The HmbBfDI has no released an additional statement yet regarding the ban and Facebook’s appeal.
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Written by Sophie Webster
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