January 12, 2021 12:05 pm
On our continent, where the EU regulation on the protection of personal data is in force, there will be no changes to the way data is shared with Facebook
The privacy update message “WhatsApp is updating its terms and privacy policy. By tapping ‘I agree’, you agree to the new terms and privacy policy, which will take effect on February 8, 2021. After this date, you will need to accept these updates to continue to use WhatsApp. You can also visit the help center if you prefer to delete your account and want more information. ” This is the text of the message that, a few days ago, appeared on the smartphones of millions of users when the App was opened and which triggered doubts and perplexities related to the management of sensitive data.
The interaction between the apps and the protection of the Gdpr Facebook bought WhatsApp in February 2014. In recent months, the interaction between the two apps has come under the magnifying glass of regulators around the world. Hence the need, on the part of WhatsApp, of the notice of the change of terms, which aims to protect Facebook which will thus be able to continue to use the data arriving from the instant messaging app, and to share them also with Messenger and Instagram. this, however, does not concern Italy and other European countries, where more stringent privacy protection rules are in force. The GDPR, which entered into force on our continent in May 2018, prevents WhatsApp from sharing the data of European users with Facebook.
“No changes for European users” WhatsApp, to dispel any doubts, issued a statement: “There are no changes to the way WhatsApp data sharing in the European Region, including the United Kingdom, resulting from the updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy – has a spokesperson explained -. We do not share European area user data with Facebook in order to allow Facebook to use this data to improve its products or advertisements. “
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The clarification on Twitter “Today, Facebook does not use your WhatsApp account information to improve your experiences with Facebook products – reiterated Niamh Sweeny, Director of Policy for WhatsApp, EMEA, on Twitter -. Should we decide to share such data with companies in the future of Facebook for this purpose, we will only do so once we have reached an agreement with the Irish Data Protection Commission. “
WhatsApp Web The main updates to the terms of service clarify the methods of data processing and, with reference to companies that use WhatsApp Business, the messaging used by company accounts, how they can use the services available on Facebook to manage chats. In this case (as known for months) companies can archive the conversations they had with users / customers. And use them for commercial purposes.
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