WhatsApp Will Comply with European Union with More Transparency on Policy Changes

WhatsApp confirms the user's personal data will not be shared with third parties (photo: dock. Whatsapp)

JAKARTA - After discussions with the European Union Commission (EU) and the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC Network), WhatsApp agreed to be more transparent in changing its terms of service.

The company will also make it easier for users to decline updates when they don't agree and WhatsApp will clearly explain why, where users will no longer be able to use the messaging service belonging to Meta.

In addition, WhatsApp confirms that users' personal data will not be shared with third parties or other Meta companies, including Facebook for advertising purposes.

"I welcome WhatsApp's commitment to changing its practices to comply with EU regulations, actively informing users of any changes to their contracts, and respecting their choices instead of asking them every time they open the app," said EU Justice Commissioner Didier. Reynders in a statement quoted from the EU Commission website, Tuesday, March 7.

"Consumers have the right to understand what they agree to and what that choice implies in concrete terms, so they can decide whether they want to continue using the platform," he added.

WhatsApp was criticized globally in early 2021, when it asked users to share data such as connection and transaction info with Facebook as part of its new privacy policy.

It didn't take long for the new rules to emerge, causing users to move to more secure messaging services like Signal and Telegram.

Seeing this, WhatsApp again tried to convince users that the new rule could not access end-to-end encrypted conversations, but because of the continuing protests the company stopped rolling out the policy.

CPC Network first sent a letter to WhatsApp in January 2022, following warnings from the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and eight of its member associations about alleged unfair practices in the context of WhatsApp's updates to their terms of service and privacy policies.

Then in June 2022, CPC Network sent a second letter to WhatsApp reiterating their request that consumers should be clearly informed about WhatsApp's business model and, in particular, whether WhatsApp derives revenue from commercial policies relating to users' personal data.

Following discussions between CPC Network, EU Commission and WhatsApp, the company confirmed they will not share users' personal data for advertising purposes.

"The CPC will actively monitor how WhatsApp implements this commitment when making future updates to its policy and, if necessary, enforcing compliance – including with the possibility of imposing fines," the EU Commission said.