German consumer organization sues WhatsApp over data transfer

The German consumer organization Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband has filed a complaint against WhatsApp in a Berlin court. The subject of the dispute is the passing on of user data to parent company Facebook.

In a statement, the organization writes that the data transfer and storage of data by WhatsApp are illegal in its view. Moreover, ‘the right to self-determination in the field of information must also be guaranteed in times of big data’. In September, the organization already demanded that WhatsApp would stop transferring data. Going to court was not ruled out.

The Facebook subsidiary announced in August that it would start sharing data with the parent company. In November, WhatsApp temporarily stopped passing on the data after European privacy authorities demanded it. In September, the privacy watchdog of the German state of Hamburg asked Facebook to delete the stored WhatsApp data.

WhatsApp is exhibiting unlawful behavior on various points, the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband previously stated. For example, the service uses an opt-out for collecting data for the improvement of advertisements on Facebook. However, users should be given the opportunity to consent before any data processing takes place. In addition, according to the consumer organization, telephone numbers of users who do not use WhatsApp are also passed on to Facebook.