Germany yesterday slammed a three-month ban on Facebook from collecting user data from WhatsApp accounts.
The same authority also referred the case to an EU watchdog, citing concerns about election integrity.
The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, which has jurisdiction because Facebook’s German branch is based in the city, sent the order to the social network which owns the popular messaging service.
The tech giant informed WhatsApp users earlier this year that they must consent to a new data use policy to continue using the service.
Read Also: India Urges WhatsApp To Withdraw New Data-Sharing Policy
The German authority said in an emergency decision that the terms of that agreement were now null and void in Europe’s top economy for three months.
It will hand the case over to the European Data Protection Board, an independent EU body that enforces rules throughout the 27-nation bloc.
The head of the German regulator, Johannes Caspar, said past Facebook data protection breaches as well as Germany’s general election in September showed the “dangers” of “mass building of user-profiles” that could be exploited.
‘This ruling is intended to protect the rights and freedoms of the many millions of users across Germany who give their permission to the new use and privacy policy,’ he said.
‘That includes not only the private sphere but also the possibility of using profiles to influence voter choices and manipulate democratic decisions.’
Caspar noted that with nearly 60 million users in Germany WhatsApp was ‘by far’ the country’s most popular social media app.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK