Data protection: do WhatsApp rules violate European regulations?

Two complaints were notably lodged against WhatsApp, concerning its new access rules.

REUTERS - THOMAS WHITE

Text by: Dominique Desaunay Follow

4 min

The new rules for accessing WhatsApp are " 

neither transparent nor understandable for users, 

" say the European Bureau of Consumers' Unions and eight of its member organizations.

NGOs accuse WhatsApp of " 

multiple violations of the rights of European consumers

".

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At the origin of this case, there are the rules of use of WhatsApp, the messaging service of Facebook, which had informed at the beginning of the year its some two billion users that they had to agree to

new conditions. access

to their encrypted messaging. Clearly, it became mandatory to agree to share your WhatsApp connection data with Facebook in order to continue to use the mobile application.

Faced with the general outcry from its users, the company then postponed the implementation of these new rules to May 15.

Then the American firm announced a little later that it was giving up its project ... At least in appearance, since a fairly intrusive advertising banner invites Internet users each time they connect to the application, to accept the new conditions.    

Forced sale 

This passage in force to obtain the consent of users would be contrary to the European General Data Protection Regulation.

This is akin to a forced sale that the European Bureau of Consumers' Unions denounces to the European Commission and the authorities responsible for consumer protection, and disturbs the privacy policy practiced by WhatsApp.

✍️Here's our letter to @EU_Justice about WhatsApp.

We're filing a complaint against the Facebook-owned company for aggressive practices and unclear & misleading changes in its policies #WhatsUpWithWhatsApp 👉 https://t.co/v3GZU6NjRy pic.twitter.com/sK0phnZdRO

- The Consumer Voice (@beuc) July 12, 2021

“ 

Two main complaints have been launched by the European Bureau of Consumers

'

Unions (

BEUC

)

: on the one hand, concerning the aggressive practice of WhatsApp to impose its new conditions of use and then the inability for the consumer to understand the changes made in the use of the application with these new conditions

 ”, specifies

Pauline Ducoin

, lawyer in the firm Cornet Vincent Segurel.

The lawyer continues: “ 

We can notice that in these complaints there is a small insert concerning personal data and the RGPD relating in particular to the confidentiality policy practiced by WhatsApp. At the same time, an examination is underway with the European Data Protection Board (EDPS), following a decision taken by the equivalent of the CNIL in Germany, indicating that it is out of the question to massively share the entire data from WhatsApp users with its parent company, i.e. Facebook.

 "

To defend itself, the American firm has always declared that these new conditions of use would in no way change the confidentiality of the data of the users of the application.

But this speech, pronounced many times on the mode " 

we change everything but ultimately, it does not change anything

 " brings to light the situation of overwhelming monopoly enjoyed by the American web giants in general, and Facebook in particular, which is the 100% owner of the WhatsApp platform.

Social networks impose their conditions, under the pretext of free use of their mobile or online services, obviously in exchange for our data.

And when it's free, know that inevitably, you are the product!  

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