On May 16, 2017, the French, Belgian and Dutch members of the Data Protection Contact Group published the results of their investigations after WhatsApp issued its new privacy policy in August 2015, after joining Facebook. See here. The DPAs all over the world watched the changes closely and several EU authorities initiated national investigations to verify, […]
On September 26, 2016, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information issued an order prohibiting Facebook to collect and store data of German WhatsApp users. The decision came after WhatsApp issued a statement informing its users that the application’s terms and privacy policy was updated, as a consequence of WhatsApp’s joining Facebook. […]
Tags: DATA PROTECTION, INTERNATIONAL DATA PROTECTION, US PRIVACY
On August 25, 2016, WhatsApp issued a statement informing its users that the application’s terms and privacy policy was updated, which was also a consequence of WhatsApp’s joining Facebook. Allegedly WhatsApp wanted to modify the privacy policy to allow users to “communicate with businesses”. WhatsApp notified all users –with the latest supported versions of the […]
On February 7, 2019, the Bundeskartellamt, the German antitrust authority, prohibited Facebook from combining data concerning German Facebook users gathered also from third party websites when the user didn’t give voluntary consent to this practice. The decision concerns all private users of Facebook based in Germany. According to the Bundeskartellamt’s decision, until now, individuals […]
The scandal of Cambridge Analytica caused several consequences for Facebook in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the Information Commissioner (ICO) is investigating the use of personal data and analytics by political campaigns, parties, social media companies and other commercial actors by 30 organizations, including Facebook. See here. The Working Party 29(WP29) created a Social Media Working Group to develop a […]
Several DPAs have issued guidance on how individuals can exercise their rights as data subjects vis-a-vis social media platforms. See for example: – ICO – United Kingdom: https://ico.org.uk… – Data Protection Commissioner – Ireland: https://dataprotection.ie… – Croatian Data Protection Agency: request for the protection of rights request for removing personal data from social networks reporting […]
On October 24, 2017, Advocate General Bot issued his preliminary opinion in case C‑210/16, opining on the definition of a data controller, applicable national law, and jurisdiction under EU data protection law under Directive 95/46/EC. The opinion is not binding but if followed by the European Court of Justice (CJEU), EU companies that have been […]
On September 11, 2017, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) issued a closing resolution against Facebook deeming that the company doesn’t process data in accordance with EU data protection law. According to the AEPD, Facebook “collects data on ideology, sex, religious beliefs, personal preferences or browsing activity without clearly informing about how and for what purpose it will use […]
On January 10, 2017, the European Commission issued a draft for a new ePrivacy Regulation (“Proposal”) that would replace Directive 2002/58/EC (‘the ePrivacy Directive’), implementing a higher level of privacy for all electronic communications. Scope of application: The Proposal applies to all electronic communication providers – including EU institutions – and aim at aligning the existing rules, which date back […]
On December 13, 2016, EU Article 29 Data Protection Working Party “(WP29”) dealt with several critical matters with regards to the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Privacy Shield. It also dealt with the enforcement measures on cases having a cross-border effect. As for the GDPR’s implementation, the WP29 importantly adopted: […]