WhatsApp has been trying to introduce a new privacy policy for some time now that would give the company more freedom in sharing data with its parent company Facebook. The change was originally supposed to be implemented at the beginning of the year, but WhatsApp had to postpone the whole thing, citing "misinformation."
When the whole thing became known, a real shitstorm broke out. At the time, WhatsApp tried to explain the process. The Facebook subsidiary explained that the new privacy policy affects businesses. That means that communication between private users will still be unaffected. Instead, WhatsApp wants to enable new features that allow people to start chats with businesses. Therefore, the new privacy policy will only be weakened in a way that would affect businesses that use the WhatsApp platform.
WhatsApp data sharing: Facebook should take a stand
It seems as if WhatsApp wants to enable customer support and other business experiences to take place via the messenger – perhaps similar to Apple Business Chat. However, various privacy-conscious groups remain skeptical. Now a German regulator is trying to block the launch of these changes for the time being. The aim is to complete an investigation. The Commission stated (via Bloomberg), she wants to ensure that there is no "abuse of data power". Facebook will be given the opportunity to respond to this in a hearing. How the whole thing will turn out remains to be seen for now. After all, it is not the first time that Facebook and WhatsApp have drawn the wrath of the supervisory authorities by sharing data. So the whole thing will certainly remain exciting. (Photo by Natee Meepian / Bigstockphoto)
Update from April 13th:
A company spokesperson said in a statement that Facebook is reviewing the information it received from the Hamburg regulator and will "address their misunderstandings about the purpose and impact of the update." The company added that it "remains committed to providing secure and private communications for everyone."
Our latest update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data. To be clear, by accepting WhatsApp's updated terms of service, users are not agreeing to an expansion of our ability to share data with Facebook, and the update will not impact the privacy of their messages to friends or family, wherever they are in the world. Facebook is reviewing the correspondence it has received from the Hamburg Data Protection Authority and will clarify any misunderstandings they have about the purpose and impact of the update. We remain fully committed to enabling secure and private communications for all.
