France: Privacy regulator threatens to fine WhatsApp

The French data protection authority CNIL is giving Facebook-owned WhatsApp one month to start complying with French privacy law when sharing user data with its parent company.

If WhatsApp does not bring its data sharing with Facebook into compliance with France’s Data Protection Act, it could face fines, CNIL warned in a formal notice Monday, December 18.

The ultimatum comes after WhatsApp in August 2016 started sharing certain user information, like phone numbers and analytics data, with Facebook. The move, according to WhatsApp, is intended to fight spam and abuse and improve the user experience. By connecting phone numbers, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show more relevant ads, WhatsApp said at the time.

That prompted concern from European Union regulators, who in October 2016 opened an antitrust investigation into the practice. Now, France’s CNIL, whose mission is to “protect personal data, support innovation, preserve individual liberties,” says WhatsApp has not properly obtained users’ consent to share their information with Facebook, a violation the Data Protection Act.

Full Content: CNIL

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