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Logo of WhatsApp: The most used messenger in Germany
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
The EU Commission is demanding explanations from the messenger service WhatsApp about its data protection rules.
Together with the network for consumer protection (CPC), a corresponding letter was sent to the company belonging to the Meta group (formerly Facebook), the Brussels authority announced on Thursday.
Clarification is required regarding the new terms of use and data protection rules from 2021.
WhatsApp introduced new data protection conditions in May last year and was accused of a lack of transparency for weeks.
A concern of many critics was that more data would be shared with the parent company as part of the change.
WhatsApp rejected this.
The accusation that WhatsApp does not provide its users with clear and comprehensive information about its business and how it handles data is not new.
In September 2021, the Irish data protection authority announced a fine of 225 million euros against WhatsApp because the service, in the authority's view, had not made it clear enough which data was processed and for what purpose.
WhatsApp is legally defending itself against the penalty.
Start of an official dialogue
The responsible EU Commissioner Didier Reynders now demanded: "WhatsApp must ensure that consumers understand what they agree to and how their personal data is used." He expects the company to comply with EU rules.
That is why an official dialogue has now begun.
WhatsApp has until the end of February to make specific commitments on how to respond to the concerns.
In a reaction on Thursday, WhatsApp merely announced that it wanted to explain to the Commission how WhatsApp protects the privacy of users in accordance with obligations under EU law.
According to the information, the letter is specifically about whether consumers are clear enough about the consequences of agreeing to the new rules and about the notifications in the app that ask them to agree.
The Commission and consumer advocates are also concerned about the exchange of personal user data between WhatsApp and third parties and other companies belonging to Meta.
mbo/dpa