Live: Facebook and WhatsApp give explanations in the Senate for their privacy policies

06/09/2021 9:42 AM

• Clarín.com

• Technology

Updated 06/09/2021 10:24

After the Government

prohibited

him

To WhatsApp use its new terms and conditions, representatives of Facebook and the messaging service participate this Wednesday in the Senate of a commission meeting to give explanations on the use of personal data.

The discussion revolves around 

privacy on social networks and the new policies adopted for browsing safety

, reported parliamentary sources.

The meeting was scheduled for 10 in the morning.

It happens that on May 17, the Secretary of Commerce of the Nation issued a resolution in the Official Gazette in which it prohibited the implementation of the new Terms of Service and Privacy Policies of WhatsApp, considering that it would incur

a situation of abuse of dominant position.

The meeting called by the president of the Systems, Media and Freedom of Expression commission, Alfredo Luenzo, was also invited by Rodrigo Luchinsky, president of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition, and Martín Becerra, researcher at Conicet.

The Government's resolution

Paula Español, head of the Secretary of Commerce.

Photo Clarín

In the document, the company is required to "refrain from implementing and / or suspending the update of the conditions of service and privacy policy of the WhatsApp application in Argentina, for a term of

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180)

days or until the completion of the investigation "being carried out by the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC).

The Government considers that the new update

could be incompatible with the Antitrust Law

and Argentine legislation on the protection of personal data.

The CNDC had already imposed a precautionary measure that was notified to the company on Friday, one day before the entry into force of the update in question, which was going to be mandatory for those users who wished to continue using

the messaging service as up to now.

Resolution 492/2021, signed by the Secretary of Commerce, Paula Español, takes the mess to a higher level.

Among the recitals, mention is made of the antecedents in the

United States, the European Union, Turkey, India, Germany, Italy and Brazil

, where this transfer of personal data implicit in the update was not enabled for violating different local regulations.

"Considering the position of the firm FACEBOOK INC. And its subsidiaries, the international antecedents of investigations for abuse of a dominant position and the imminent entry into force of the new conditions of service and privacy policy of WHATSAPP INC. In the ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, the NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE DEFENSE OF COMPETITION understood that the issuance

of an advance protection measure is appropriate,

"says the Resolution.

And he adds: "If the exchange of user information established for May 15 of this year is verified, a database of users with a level of detail that cannot be replicated by other companies would be formed, giving rise to potential exclusionary behaviors. and exploitative ".

On the other hand, it is highlighted that "the supposed free services offered by the firm FACEBOOK INC. And its controlled companies do not actually exist, to the extent that the essential asset that represents the information of the users of the platforms translates into monetary terms, hence the possibility of measuring the exploitation parameter of users who provide more information than is strictly necessary ".

The terms of the controversy

Use of personal data.

Photo DPA

The new policy was developed for new ways of chatting with businesses and making purchases from in-app conversations, which had already been announced in October last year and are "totally optional," according to technology, but the policies have been controversial for many users.

"Some purchasing functions are integrated with Facebook so that companies can manage their inventories through the applications," as well as "so that people can choose whether they want to communicate with companies or not," as WhatsApp explained.

Users could already use the 'app' to communicate with companies present in WhatsApp Business to

chat and purchase products.

With the latest news, companies will have paid services, but not users, who will continue to use the service for free.

As a Facebook company (like Facebook, Instagram or Oculus), WhatsApp shares the data it collects with other group companies, just as these companies share user data with WhatsApp.

These data include user activity in the application (settings, interaction, frequency), service diagnostics, or device and connection information (model, operating system, battery charge level, time zone, IP address). .

It also installs cookies "

to operate and provide services

, as well as provide Internet-based services, improve experiences, understand how services are used, and personalize them."

This was questioned not only in Argentina, but throughout the world.

WhatsApp has a penetration that exceeds

76%

in cell phones in Argentina.

SL

Look also

The Government prohibited Facebook from using information from WhatsApp users

Now WhatsApp will not limit functions if its new privacy policy is not accepted