German Court Orders Facebook to Halt Data Collection from WhatsApp Users

In a surprisingly fast turn of events, less than two months have passed since WhatsApp announced its plans to share user data with parent company, Facebook. This development was met with significant uproar, with many calling it an unsolicited breach of data privacy. For some, this uproar was a reactionary spill-over following increasing concerns regarding digital privacy in an ever-connected world.

As of today, a German regulatory body has taken action on behalf of WhatsApp’s German users, prohibiting the application from sharing user data with Facebook. According to a [New York Times report](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/technology/whatsapp-facebook-germany.html), the data protection commissioner in Hamburg has ordered Facebook to cease its collection and storage of data from German WhatsApp users. This marked the first instance where a data privacy enforcement body has been involved in the debate. It also urged the social media platform to delete all previously obtained information from the 35 million affected users.

Post this directive, Facebook reaffirmed its commitment to complying with Europe’s privacy regulations, pledging to resolve the German authorities’ concerns eventually. As a logistical side note, Facebook’s Hamburg office was primarily targeted due to its geographical proximity.

This development is the latest in increasing governmental scrutiny of giant American tech firms operating in Europe. Companies such as YouTube, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook are either under investigation or have already faced regulatory changes. For instance, Google was recently ordered to allow user records to be permanently deleted from its server under the “right to be forgotten” decree. Apple has also been instructed to repay $14 billion in back-taxes due to alleged “illegal state aid” by European authorities.

Public outrage regarding WhatsApp’s blatant intention to share data such as telephone numbers with Facebook has been reverberating globally. This data, once procured, stands to be utilized for targeted marketing – a move seen by many as profoundly intrusive. It’s safe to conclude that with growing global data protection awareness, similar rulings might be expected from not just Europe, but from around the globe.