Enlarge image
App icons: "Aggressive messages" from WhatsApp
Photo: Hans Lucas / imago images
The European consumer lobby group BEUC has lodged a complaint about WhatsApp with the EU Commission and the network of European consumer centers.
Her allegation: For months, the Facebook subsidiary has been putting its users under excessive pressure to agree to the terms of use that have been in force since May 15.
"The content of these notifications, their type, their timing and their repetition exert undue pressure on users and impair their freedom of choice," said a message from BEUC on Monday.
"For several months, WhatsApp has been bombarding its users with aggressive messages to get them to accept the new terms of use and data protection guidelines," said BEUC boss Monique Goyens.
“But users don't even know what they're accepting”.
User data would be processed without sufficient consent, warned Goyens.
"That is why we are calling on the authorities to take quick action against WhatsApp to ensure that the rights of consumers are respected," Goyens continued.
Companies can use Facebook's server
WhatsApp had always emphasized that the update did not involve any additional data transfer to Facebook.
The main thing is to create better ways to communicate with companies via WhatsApp.
An example is given in the help section: »Larger companies, such as airlines or retailers, can be contacted in a short time by thousands of customers who might ask for information about a flight or also want to track an order.
To ensure a quick response, these companies can use Facebook as a technology provider to manage some of the responses on their behalf. "
In other words: companies can use Facebook's server.
Nothing will change in the end-to-end encryption of all WhatsApp messages.
"Violation of EU consumer law"
WhatsApp has failed to explain the nature of the changes in clear and understandable language, find BEUC and consumer protection organizations from France, the Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, Romania, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
"This ambiguity represents a violation of EU consumer law, which obliges companies to use clear and transparent contract terms and commercial communication," said the consumer advocates.
They called on the European network of consumer authorities and the EU data protection authorities to work together to address these privacy and consumer rights concerns.
WhatsApp first announced the new features in January.
However, the introduction was postponed by more than three months after there were sometimes false reports about the consequences of the update.
As a result, there was a significant increase in the number of users at WhatsApp competitors such as Telegram, Signal and Threema.
Whether these users uninstalled WhatsApp at the same time is questionable.
Little by little, WhatsApp had mitigated the consequences for users who initially did not agree.
Initially, the company announced: »All users must accept the new terms of use if they want to continue using WhatsApp.
Anyone who did not agree before May 15 must do so in order to continue using WhatsApp.
The accounts will remain activated for this purpose and for updates. "
In February it was said instead: "You will receive calls and notifications for a short time, but you will not be able to read or send messages in the app."
The announcement was later changed again: users who do not agree to the update are threatened with the gradual loss of important functions after a few weeks and warnings.
This was also recently cashed in: "There are currently no plans to make these reminders permanent or to limit the functionality of the app," says WhatsApp's questions and answers about the new regulations.
However, the word “currently” could mean that the plans could change again in the future.
The changes also concern the Hamburg data protection officer.
On May 11, the authorities issued an order valid for three months, which forbids Facebook to process personal data from WhatsApp "if this is done for its own purposes".
Even after a more detailed analysis, it is not possible to identify the consequences of agreeing to WhatsApp's new rules.
While the order applies, the Hamburg-based organization wants to reach a decision at the European level at the European Data Protection Committee (EDPS) as to whether Facebook and WhatsApp will adhere to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation in this matter.
BEUC now urged that this investigation be accelerated.
pbe / Reuters / AFP
