{"id":7720,"date":"2016-09-28T12:20:05","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T16:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kasperskydaily.com\/uk\/?p=7720"},"modified":"2019-11-22T10:09:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T10:09:14","slug":"whatsapp-facebook-troubles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/7720\/","title":{"rendered":"More privacy problems for WhatsApp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\">On August 25, WhatsApp published a <\/span><span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.whatsapp.com\/10000627\/Looking-ahead-for-WhatsApp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">blog post<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"> detailing its new terms of use. These types of posts rarely generate buzz, but this post detailed end-to-end encryption, exploration of business, and connecting your phone number with Facebook<\/span><span lang=\"fr-FR\">\u2018<\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">s systems.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\">\n<\/p><p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Hang on. Connecting with Facebook? Let<\/span><span lang=\"fr-FR\">\u2018<\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">s read that bit again:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><i>But by coordinating more with Facebook, we\u2019ll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp. And by connecting your phone number with Facebook\u2019s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them. For example, you might see an ad from a company you already work with, rather than one from someone you\u2019ve never heard of. You can learn more, including how to control the use of your data, <\/i><\/span><span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif\"><i><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/faq\/general\/28030012\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a><\/u><\/i><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"><i>.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">Shortly after reading that, my colleague Serge penned a <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/facebook-whatsapp-integration\/7605\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blog post<\/a><\/u><\/span> about how existing users could opt out of the new terms and conditions. New users, however, will not have that option.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Since we're talking <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Allo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#Allo<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/privacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#privacy<\/a> shortcomings,  time is ticking for you to opt out of Whatsapp data sharing <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KCt4qlGvlw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/KCt4qlGvlw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Un3NXVW95W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/Un3NXVW95W<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kaspersky (@kaspersky) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kaspersky\/status\/778770876749742081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">September 22, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">It did not take long for US privacy groups to broadcast their disdain and concern. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) filed a complaint on <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/epic.org\/privacy\/ftc\/whatsapp\/EPIC-CDD-FTC-WhatsApp-Complaint-2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">August 29<\/a><\/u><\/span> and called for an investigation from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\">In a discussion with <\/span><span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mike_mimoso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Mike Mimoso<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"> from <\/span><span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/threatpost.com\/privacy-groups-file-ftc-complaint-over-whatsapp-data-sharing-with-facebook\/120218\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Threatpost<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">, EPIC<\/span><span lang=\"fr-FR\">\u2018s Consumer Protection Counsel Claire T. Gartland<\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"> noted:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><i>&lt;em&gt;EPIC will be keeping the pressure on the Commission to act, since this is such a clear violation of their numerous statements on the issue. If and when the FTC acts, they have the power to stop the proposed changes from going forward and\/or enter into a settlement agreement with the companies \u2014 similar to the 2012 consent order with Facebook.&lt;\/em&gt;\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\">In the weeks leading up to the policy ratification date of September 25, the chatter surrounding WhatsApp<\/span><span lang=\"fr-FR\">\u2018<\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">s new terms seemed to die down. However, in the past week, governing bodies in both India and Germany have stepped up against Facebook and WhatsApp.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\">In India, a chief justice of the Delhi High Court <\/span><span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/mashable.com\/2016\/09\/23\/india-delhi-high-court-whatsapp-facebook\/#zzUheY4xFkq9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">issued an order to WhatsApp<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"> to delete the data collected from users opting out of the company<\/span><span lang=\"fr-FR\">\u2018<\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">s new Terms and Conditions prior to September 25. The court added a request for Whatsapp also not to share the pre-September 25 data of customers who did not opt out of the new changes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">Similar to the privacy concerns in India, the <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heise.de\/newsticker\/meldung\/Datenschutzbeauftragter-verbietet-Facebook-WhatsApp-Datenabgleich-3332833.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">German data and protection agency<\/a><\/u><\/span> has ordered <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/technology\/2016\/09\/27\/facebook-banned-from-gathering-whatsapp-users-data-in-germany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">WhatsApp to stop collecting data from its users in Germany<\/a><\/u><\/span> and to delete any information already collected.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Germany?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#Germany<\/a> orders <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@facebook<\/a>  to stop collecting data on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WhatsApp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@WhatsApp<\/a>  Users: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ohe3tQcrMQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ohe3tQcrMQ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Privacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#Privacy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mobile?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#mobile<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/regulation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#regulation<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/threatpost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@threatpost<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/saJBsZnJwx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/saJBsZnJwx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kaspersky (@kaspersky) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kaspersky\/status\/781143657038680064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">September 28, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">\u201cIt has to be the 35 million WhatsApp users in Germany\u2019s decision whether they want to connect their account with Facebook,\u201d said Johannes Caspar, the data protection commissioner for Hamburg. \u201cFacebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">A spokesman from Facebook noted that the social media juggernaut will <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/technology\/2016\/09\/27\/facebook-banned-from-gathering-whatsapp-users-data-in-germany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">appeal the decision<\/a><\/u><\/span>: \u201cFacebook complies with EU data protection law. We will appeal this order and will work with the Hamburg DPA in an effort to address their questions and resolve any concerns.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">The question now is if other countries will follow the path of Germany and India. Reports from the <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-37485589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">BBC<\/a><\/u><\/span> and <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/technology\/2016\/09\/27\/facebook-banned-from-gathering-whatsapp-users-data-in-germany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Telegraph<\/a><\/u><\/span> indicate that governing bodies in the United States and the European Union may investigate the changes, and the UK is looking into it. In the UK, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham <span style=\"color: #0563c1\"><u><a href=\"https:\/\/ico.org.uk\/about-the-ico\/news-and-events\/news-and-blogs\/2016\/08\/statement-on-changes-to-whatsapp-and-facebook-s-handling-of-personal-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">noted at the time of the change<\/a><\/u><\/span> in T&amp;C:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">&lt;em&gt;<span lang=\"en-US\"><i>Our role is to pull back the curtain on things like this, ensuring that companies are being transparent with the public about how their personal data is being shared, and protecting consumers by making sure the law is being followed.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><i>We<\/i><\/span><span lang=\"fr-FR\"><i>\u2018<\/i><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"><i>ve been informed of the changes. Organizations do not need to get prior approval from the ICO to change their approaches, but they do need to stay within data protection laws. We are looking into this.&lt;\/em&gt;\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, serif\">This story will more than likely evolve in various ways around the globe in coming weeks. Stay tuned to both Kaspersky Daily and Threatpost for updates.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Germany and India officially challenge changes to WhatsApp\u2019s data-sharing policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":636,"featured_media":7721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2026],"tags":[20,1645,565,43,526],"class_list":{"0":"post-7720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-threats","9":"tag-facebook","10":"tag-messenger-apps","11":"tag-mobile-2","12":"tag-privacy","13":"tag-whatsapp"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/7720\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/7715\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/7771\/"},{"hreflang":"es","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.es\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/9184\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/9049\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/13103\/"},{"hreflang":"fr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.fr\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/6109\/"},{"hreflang":"pl","url":"https:\/\/plblog.kaspersky.com\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/5453\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/8811\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/12720\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/13103\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/whatsapp-facebook-troubles\/13103\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/tag\/facebook\/","name":"Facebook"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/636"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7720"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17634,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7720\/revisions\/17634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}