WhatsApp Has Until End of February to Clarify Privacy Policy Change, EU Says

WhatsApp has been asked to clarify the policy and if it complies with EU consumer protection law.

By Reuters | Updated: 28 January 2022 11:03 IST

WhatsApp was unfairly pressuring users to accept its new privacy policy

Highlights

"WhatsApp has until the end of February
Areas of concern include whether WhatsApp provides sufficient information
The Commission was concerned about the exchange of users' personal data

Facebook unit WhatsApp has been given until the end of February to explain changes to its privacy policy and whether this complies with EU consumer protection laws after complaints from consumer groups, the European Commission said on Thursday.

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and eight of its members took their grievances to the EU executive and the European network of consumer authorities, saying WhatsApp was unfairly pressuring users to accept its new privacy policy which allows it to share some data with Facebook and other group firms.

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said he shared the worries and has asked WhatsApp to clarify the policy and if it complies with EU consumer protection law.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"WhatsApp has until the end of February to come back to us with concrete commitments on how they will address our concerns," he said in a statement.

Areas of concern include whether the company provides sufficient information about its new terms of service and if its notifications prompting users to accept the new terms and privacy policy are fair.

The Commission said it was also concerned about the exchange of users' personal data between WhatsApp and third parties or other Facebook/Meta companies.

WhatsApp Now Lets iPhone Users Pause Recording Their Voice Messages

"We look forward to explaining to the European Commission how we protect our users' privacy in compliance with our obligations under EU law," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Looking to buy headphones? Listen to the experts on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.