theguardian : WhatsApp asked by European regulators to pause sharing user data with Facebook

WhatsApp asked by European regulators to pause sharing user data with Facebook

WhatsApp has been warned by the pan-European privacy watchdogs over its sharing of information with Facebook and asked to pause the transfer of personal data.The gathered European Union data protection authorities, collectively known as the Article 29 Working Party, said they had serious concerns over WhatsApp's recent privacy policy change and the sharing of user phone numbers with its parent company Facebook.Article 29 said that it had "requested WhatsApp to communicate all relevant information to the Working Party as soon as possible and urged the company to pause the sharing of users' data until the appropriate legal protections could be assured" in a letter sent to the messaging service.A WhatsApp spokesperson said: "We've had constructive conversations, including before our update, and we remain committed to respecting applicable law."The data protection authorities also wrote to Yahoo over its massive data breach that exposed the email credentials of 500 million users in 2014, as well as its scanning of customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by US intelligence officials.
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EU has "serious concerns" over WhatsApp data sharing

Concerns have once again been raised over the way WhatsApp handles its users' private data, this time from the European Commission.The messaging app has already been hit with a sharing ban by German regulators after the company changed its terms and conditions to allow an exchange of data between itself and parent company Facebook.Now the Article 29 Working Party (WP29), a European Commission body with representatives from each member state's data protection regulator, has delivered a letter to WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum expressing "serious concerns" over the new terms and conditions announced in August.Signed by chairwoman Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, the letter urges WhatsApp to stop plans to share data until "the appropriate legal protections can be assured", including full compliance with EU legislation.
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WhatsApp data sharing with Facebook must be stopped until it can be proved legal, European Union warns

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