Halt WhatsApp data transfers, German privacy watchdog tells Facebook
Facebook must stop collecting information about WhatsApp users in Germany, a local privacy watchdog has ordered.
Last month, Facebook began combining user data from WhatsApp, the messaging company it acquired in 2014, with the mountain of information it holds about members of its social network in order to better target advertising.
The move prompted concern among WhatsApp users, as the company had long promoted itself as a strong protector of user privacy.
Privacy regulators were also concerned, among them the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, who on Tuesday issued an administrative order prohibiting Facebook from collecting and storing the data of German WhatsApp users. The company must also delete any data that WhatsApp has already handed over.
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