This change is definitely not happening.
The European Bureau of Consumers Unions (Beuc) announced on Monday that it had lodged a complaint against the WhatsApp messaging service.
In question, the controversial modification of its confidentiality policy.
These new rules are "neither transparent nor understandable for users", estimate the Beuc and eight of its member organizations, including the UFC-Que Choisir (France), accusing WhatsApp of "multiple violations of the rights of European consumers".
These organizations have lodged a complaint with the European Commission and the European network of consumer protection authorities.
Read also WhatsApp: 5 minutes to understand the update of the terms of use
WhatsApp, Facebook's messaging service, informed its approximately 2 billion users earlier this year that they had to agree to new terms of use.
The company then postponed the implementation of these new rules to May 15 in the face of an outcry, users worried that the messaging service does not share more data with its parent company, Facebook.
Several countries, including Germany, have also temporarily banned Facebook from using WhatsApp data.
"Deliberately vague" explanations
"For months, WhatsApp has bombarded users with aggressive and repeated messages to force them to accept its new terms of use and its privacy policy," Beuc general manager Monique Goyens denounced in a statement.
Le Beuc and its eight member organizations deem "impossible for consumers to have a clear idea of the consequences of the changes on the protection of their privacy, in particular with regard to the transfer of their personal data to Facebook and other third parties ".
“WhatsApp has been deliberately vague on this subject and consumers would be exposed to large-scale processing of their data without valid consent,” criticized Monique Goyens.
🚨 Consumer groups have today filed a complaint against WhatsApp for unfairly pressuring users to accept its new policies.
We're calling on authorities to take swift action to ensure it respects consumer rights # WhatsUpWithWhatsApp👉https: //t.co/WWqaiH7e9g pic.twitter.com/e7iLg3Y5Y0
- The Consumer Voice (@beuc) July 12, 2021
"We call on the authorities to take swift action against WhatsApp to ensure that it respects the rights of consumers," she added.
It is now up to the European Commission and the national authorities responsible for consumer protection to decide to open an investigation.