Italy's antitrust authority has fined WhatsApp a total of EUR 3 million for imposing "unfair" contract terms on users when it updated its privacy policy last year. Specifically, the agency said WhatsApp breached the country's consumer code by leading users to believe that they weren't allowed to continue using the app unless they agreed to share their personal data with parent company Facebook. “The company has, in fact, prompted WhatsApp users to accept the new Terms of Use in full, in particular the sharing of data with Facebook, by making them believe it would be otherwise impossible to continue using the application,” said the authority in its ruling, adding that existing users prior to the 25 August 2016 update were at least offered the option of accepting the updated terms without having to share their data with Facebook.
The fine follows an investigation launched last October after the antitrust agency invited WhatsApp to explain precisely what information it planned to share with Facebook, how it planned to request user consent and how the data may be used. WhatsApp was also censured for the "tacit consent" mechanism in its terms of use, the fact only the provider has the right to cancel the service, as well as allowing "unjustified" interruptions of service.
