The new privacy policy update of WhatsApp could be illegal

WhatsApp released its new update in February 2021 that will enable Facebook to integrate user data into all Facebook-owned services. Since then, WhatsApp has been confronted by worldwide criticism. WhatsApp announced that it would continue with controversial terms and services despite everybody's criticism of a new privacy update.

Image Source: India Today

At the moment, an investigation has been undertaken by the German privacy regulator to deter the WhatsApp messaging app from updating its privacy policy. The Hamburg data protection and freedom commissioner, Johannes Caspar, is looking forward to blocking the accumulation of data from WhatsApp by the social media giant Facebook. He thinks that Facebook will use the data to extend its marketing and advertising business, so he has decided to take things into his own hands. In a statement Johannes expressed his thoughts that, because of lack of informed and voluntary consent, it is currently possible for data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook to be unlawfully forced. Further, he added that a formal legal means for the administrative procedure to protect data was taken in order to stop this illegitimate mass data sharing and to end the pressures on millions of people by illegal consent. Caspar said that in Germany, up to 60 million people use WhatsApp in terms of the most commonly used social media application and that it is ahead of Facebook.

Decisions need to be made before 15 May, as it is WhatsApp's time limit and after that, users are forced to accept the new privacy policy update and will no longer be able to use WhatsApp if they don't accept it. Since a German Data Protection Authority has begun the procedure, any decision that is taken may be applicable only to German residents, although it may still serve as an example to regulators from other countries.

WhatsApp tried to clarify as much as possible in response to the concerns expressed by the regulators in Hamburg. The giant of social media has published a statement that the incomprehension related to this will be resolved soon and that WhatsApp has been committed to providing secure, private messages. In addition, Facebook has taken the step to clarify the image by saying that if a user accepts the new Terms of Service from WhatsApp, they do not agree with an expansion that will lead Facebook to share more data, and that this new version of the update does not affect user privacy, whenever it speaks to friends and family.

WhatsApp subsequently updated the available information on their site in order to let users know how the data is collected, shared, and used. According to WhatsApp, the messages, calls attachments, or details that are shared do not have access to both the Facebook and WhatsApp. This is because the encrypted message end-to-end service, which does not record the receipt of the message.