German privacy watchdog bans Facebook from using WhatsApp data
The Hamburg privacy regulator has banned Facebook from using WhatsApp data of German users for its own purposes. According to the regulator, Facebook appropriates this right with the new WhatsApp terms of use.
The ban of the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Information Freedom HmbBfDI takes effect immediately and applies to the whole of Germany. The decision of the commissioner has to do with the changed terms of use of WhatsApp. These will take effect on May 15th, users who do not agree will eventually be blocked from the platform.
WhatsApp and Facebook have always said that nothing will change in the field of data sharing for European users, due to European regulations. WhatsApp will store and use transaction data from users outside the EU for payment services. Data from non-European users who contact companies via WhatsApp are also shared with Facebook.
According to the HmbBfDI, the amended terms and conditions also state, among other things, that Facebook can use the WhatsApp data to connect with other Facebook services and that the company is interested in the data of young people. In addition, an earlier notification has been made that WhatsApp messages are not shared with Facebook and are thereby removed visibly by others.
“The terms are misleading and contain contradictions” While the commissioner acknowledges that Facebook says the data will not be used for the purposes described, he also believes that the conditions for using the data are not transparent. The HmbBfDI thinks that the data sharing could still be implemented step-by-step under the new conditions with the permission given. He also says that it is unclear which conditions apply to Europeans and which apply to other users. In addition, the terms would contradict and mislead each other. Ultimately, it would therefore not be clear what consequences it has if users give permission.
Apart from the substantive conditions, the Commissioner is also not satisfied with how users have to give consent. Giving permission is a condition to be able to use WhatsApp, which, according to the commissioner, is not free consent and is mandatory under the GDPR.
According to the commissioner, Facebook’s actions therefore do not comply with the GDPR, both in the field of data sharing that is currently carried out under the terms of use, and in the field of future data sharing. That is why the Commissioner is introducing the ban ‘to prevent disadvantages and damage’.
The ban is the result of the emergency procedure that the privacy watchdog started in April. Under the rules of such an urgent procedure, the ban may be valid for a maximum of three months. That is why the watchdog is also turning to the European Data Protection Board EDPB to make it a permanent, European decision.
In a response to EuroNews, among others, WhatsApp reports that the claims of the HmbBfDI are incorrect. WhatsApp will therefore not stop with the new terms of use. The regulator’s decision is said to be based on a “fundamental misunderstanding,” WhatsApp says.