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A controversial decision this summer<\/a> by Facebook-owned messaging giant WhatsApp to share data on its users with its parent company \u2014 including for advertising purposes \u2014 continues to\u00a0attract\u00a0the ire of\u00a0European regulators. Now Facebook has agree to pause\u00a0data sharing\u00a0in the UK, following an investigation by data protection watchdog, the\u00a0ICO.<\/p>\n In a\u00a0strongly worded <\/a>blog post detailing how its\u00a0probe has been progressing,\u00a0information commissioner Elizabeth Denham writes:\u00a0\u201cI had concerns that consumers weren\u2019t being properly protected, and it\u2019s fair to say the enquiries my team have made haven\u2019t changed that view.\u00a0I don\u2019t think users have been given enough information about what Facebook plans to do with their information, and I don\u2019t think WhatsApp has got valid consent from users to share the information. I also believe users should be given ongoing control over how their information is used, not just a 30 day window.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve set out the law clearly to Facebook, and we\u2019re pleased that they\u2019ve agreed to pause using data from UK WhatsApp users for advertisements or product improvement purposes,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Denham\u00a0also hits out at \u201cvague terms of service\u201d for generally failing to give\u00a0consumers \u201cthe protection we need\u201d.<\/p>\n The updated WhatsApp privacy policy offered users an opt out of sharing their data with Facebook but default opted them in \u2014 unless they clicked to read the terms more closely and turned\u00a0the sharing option off, having understood what the toggle represented. Users were also given a 30-day window to revoke consent via the settings in the app \u2014 after which they would be unable to withdraw\u00a0consent. None of which has pleased the\u00a0ICO.<\/p>\n In the blog post<\/a>\u00a0Denham says the ICO\u00a0has asked\u00a0Facebook and WhatsApp to sign an undertaking committing to \u201cbetter explaining to customers how their data will be used, and to giving users ongoing control over that information\u201d, and goes on to warn the company may face enforcement action if it does not alter its approach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also want individuals to have the opportunity to be given an unambiguous choice before Facebook start using that information and to be given the opportunity to change that decision at any point in the future. We think consumers deserve a greater level of information and protection, but so far Facebook and WhatsApp haven\u2019t agreed. If Facebook starts using the data without valid consent, it may face enforcement action from my office,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n In a statement on\u00a0the\u00a0ICO\u2019s action, a\u00a0Facebook spokesperson rejected criticism it is not being clear enough with WhatsApp users about the data-sharing arrangement, telling\u00a0TechCrunch:\u00a0\u201cWhatsApp designed its privacy policy and terms update to give users a clear and simple explanation of how the service works, as well as choice over how their data is used. These updates comply with applicable law, and follow the latest guidance from the UK Information Commissioner\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n Facebook\u2019s spokesperson added: \u201cWe hope to continue our detailed conversations with the ICO and other data protection officials, and we remain open to working collaboratively to address their questions.\u201d<\/p>\n TechCrunch understands the company\u00a0has had multiple meetings with the ICO about the matter, as well as also\u00a0receiving questions from several\u00a0other European regulators who also have\u00a0concerns about the arrangement.<\/p>\n In September<\/a>\u00a0Facebook and WhatsApp were ordered by a local data protection regulator in Germany to stop sharing data on users. Facebook said it would be appealing that order.<\/p>\n The Spanish DPA<\/a> has also stated publicly that it intends to investigate the data-sharing arrangement.<\/p>\n The data transfer is\u00a0also being probed by the European Union\u2019s data protection watchdog group<\/a>, which is made up of representatives from all EU Member State DPAs. The Article 29 Working Party said in October its members (such as the ICO) would be acting\u00a0\u201cin a coordinated way\u201d to target any problems they identify, and to co-ordinate any enforcement action they may deem necessary.<\/p>\n Denham said the ICO intends to keep \u201cpushing\u201d, along with its fellow European DPAs, for WhatsApp users to be provided with more information\u00a0about how data shared with\u00a0Facebook will be used; as well as for a clearer description of the choice they have to share or not to share; and for\u00a0users to\u00a0have an ongoing choice to revoke consent.<\/p>\n In her blog post she also flags a\u00a0wider data protection concern related to\u00a0companies triangulating user data via acquisition \u2014 a concern that\u00a0has\u00a0also been voiced by the EU\u2019s competition commissioner<\/a> this year. And raised most recently as an objection to the Microsoft-LinkedIn acquisition<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a particular concern when company mergers mean that vast amounts of customers\u2019 personal data become an asset to be bought and sold,\u201d writes Denham. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing situations where companies are being\u00a0 bought primarily for this data, and when it is combined with information the purchasing company already holds, there\u2019s a danger that consumers will have little control as datasets are matched and intrusive details revealed.\u201d<\/p>\n She says the regulator is planning to publish a report on this early next year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a problem that is broader than data protection, and we\u2019re speaking with industry, competition regulators and consumer groups to see how we can make people clearer on the law. We\u2019ll be publishing a report on this in the new year, outlining our concerns and discussing solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/cs2A9gPfbqg\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A controversial decision this summer by Facebook-owned messaging giant WhatsApp to share data on its users with its parent company \u2014 including for advertising purposes \u2014 continues to\u00a0attract\u00a0the ire of\u00a0European <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,7,14,15,6,12,11],"class_list":["post-1452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-update","tag-computer-news","tag-downloads","tag-microsoft-download-news","tag-networking-updates","tag-technology-update","tag-wordpress-plugin-download","tag-wordpress-theme-download"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t