Germany orders Facebook not to collect data from WhatsApp users

An administrative order issued by The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information prohibits to Facebook to collect and store data from WhatsApp users with immediate effect. An order that extends to the data that the social network has already saved from the users of the messaging application, and that the commission requests removal for violating the data protection laws of this countryThis has been the reaction of Germany to the new WhatsApp Terms of Service and Facebook requirements

Just 24 hours have passed since the month deadline for WhatsApp users expired who would like to think about whether or not they wanted to link their phone number and their address book with the social network Facebook Given this, the users who decided not to accept this relationship, are encountering the obligation to do so if they want to continue using the chats Issues that not only violate the privacy of these, but also, in Germany, violate data protection laws.

This has been made known The Hamburg Commission for Data Protection and Freedom of Information through a press release.It explains the seriousness of the issue by referring to the constant public statements both by Facebookas of WhatsApp about their intentions not to exchange user data. And it is that Jam Koum (WhatsApp) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) fought tooth and nail against critics who claimed that their joining in 2014 would bring about privacy issues for users. In this way, they did not hesitate to affirm in statements, interviews and reports that WhatsApp and Facebook independents would be maintained and that user data would be kept safe. Something that has been like this until the past August, when WhatsApp reported that their Terms of Service and Privacy to Change

In the publication of the official WhatsApp blog of last August, the company confirmed that the changes would take place to accept thenew features that were coming to the app.In addition, they confirmed that the transfer of the user's telephone number and address book to the Facebook databases would only be related to a better system of friendship suggestions, more personalized announcements, and with the avoid scams and abuse

Now, the German data protection laws are enforced with an order that binds Facebook to delete the data of the 35 million users of WhatsApp in that country that have been stored on the servers of Facebook The The reason is that the laws state that this data can only be transferred from one company to another if both have established legal bases for said exchange, and have informed to its users. Something that does not happen in the case of WhatsApp and Facebook

At the moment there are no statements or reaction from Facebook However, this is not the first run-in with European government watchdogs In France and in United Kingdom already claimed to be monitoring Facebook after the policy change of WhatsApplast August.