Facebook temporarily stops using WhatsApp data obtained through user for advertising and friendship suggestions in Europe. There has recently been much criticism of the data sharing.
The decision by the parent company Facebook follows after pressure from European privacy watchdogs. Until yesterday, it seemed that the platform would halt the use of WhatsApp data only in Britain. After strong objections from privacy authority in the United Kingdom, the country made Facebook announce on Monday that the company’s data sharing has temporarily stopped.
The chat service moreover remains to share data, but this will merely be used to combat spam, according to Facebook. How long the company stops is not clear.
New conditions
Users were given new terms and conditions in August and September presented in the form of a message in the chat app, and a month reflection period. That waiting period has now expired, which means if you install WhatsApp now, you automatically agree to the new terms. It also stated that Facebook was going to use data from WhatsApp to improve ads and friendship suggestions in their own words.
Facebook will meet Article 29, an association representing all European privacy watchdogs next week to discuss the issue. However, WhatsApp currently has more than 1 billion users worldwide and Facebook has 1.7 billion users.
