IANS | 27 Jan, 2022
The European Commission on Thursday told Meta-owned WhatsApp that it has
to inform consumers about the use of their personal data in a much
better and transparent way.
In a letter to WhatsApp, the
European Commission and the network of national consumer authorities
(CPC) asked the company to clarify the changes it made in 2021 to its
terms of service and privacy policy and ensure their compliance with EU
consumer protection law.
"WhatsApp must ensure that users
understand what they agree to and how their personal data is used, in
particular where it is shared with business partners. I expect from
WhatsApp to fully comply with EU rules that protect consumers and their
privacy," said Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice.
WhatsApp
has been given time until the end of February to come back to the
commission with concrete commitments on how they will address its
concerns.
A formal complaint against WhatsApp's updated terms
and conditions was filed by several EU-based consumer protection
organisations in July last year.
Following an alert from the
European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the Commission and national
consumer authorities, under the lead of the Swedish Consumer Agency, are
requesting WhatsApp to explain how it complies with its obligations
under EU consumer protection law.
The questions concern whether
sufficiently clear information is given to consumers on the consequences
of their decision to accept or decline the company's new terms of
servic and the fairness of WhatsApp's in-app notifications prompting
consumers to accept the new terms and privacy policy.
Other concern is whether consumers have an adequate opportunity to become acquainted with the new terms before accepting them.
"The
Commission and consumer authorities are also concerned about the
exchange of users' personal data between WhatsApp and third parties or
other Facebook/Meta companies".
