Spanish watchdog to probe WhatsApp-Facebook data swap

Nieuws Breedband Spanje 6 OCT 2016
Spanish watchdog to probe WhatsApp-Facebook data swap

Spain's data protection agency (AEPD) has announced the launch of an investigation into the exchange of personal data between WhatsApp and Facebook. The watchdog said it wanted to ascertain the nature of the data collected from WhatsApp users and sent to Facebook, how long the data will be retained and for what purposes it will be used. Ultimately, the aim is to check whether the way in which the personal data of users of both services is processed meets Spanish data protection legislation.

The AEPD will work in coordination with the data protection authorities of other European countries such as Germany, Italy and the UK, which are also probing the companies after WhatsApp updated its privacy policy earlier this year. In Germany, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information ordered Facebook to stop collecting and storing data of German users of WhatsApp after infringing German data protection law.

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