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[oti]

With immediate effect Germany has forbid Facebook to share its (German) user data between Facebook and WhatsApp. Facebook is not allowed to collect user data from WhatsApp and use it for Facebook. Data it has already collected must be deleted.

"Die Anordnung schützt die Daten der ca. 35 Millionen WhatsApp-Nutzer in Deutschland. Es muss ihre jeweilige Entscheidung sein, ob sie eine Verbindung ihres Kontos mit Facebook wünschen. Dazu muss Facebook sie vorab um Erlaubnis fragen. Dies ist nicht geschehen.
Dazu kommen noch viele Millionen Personen, deren Kontaktdaten aus den Adressbüchern der Nutzer zu WhatsApp hochgeladen wurden, ohne dass diese etwas mit Facebook oder WhatsApp zu tun haben müssen. Diese gigantische Menge von Daten hat Facebook zwar nach eigenem Bekunden noch nicht erhoben. Die Antwort von Facebook, dass dies lediglich zur Zeit noch nicht erfolgt sei, gibt jedoch Anlass zur Sorge, dass das Ausmaß des Datenverstoßes noch massivere Auswirkungen nach sich ziehen wird."

FB didn't ask its users for permission, they didn't have the option to opt out. There's also no legal ground to share the data. Hence the immediate decree.

https://www.datenschutz-hamburg.de/...Pid]=1&cHash=e346e13cbf02b5a31abc2fa4e0fd211e

Let's see how this plays out. WhatsApp is by far the most popular messenger in Germany.

 

[El Topo]

Does Facebook even care? I was under the impression they used the whole "We are in Ireland, so we don't have to follow your law" excuse.

 

[Zaru]

It's funny because they bought whatsapp to do just that

 

[ClosingADoor]

FB didn't ask its users for permission, they didn't have the option to opt out. There's also no legal ground to share the data. Hence the immediate decree.

They did give the option to opt out. It was a bit hidden though.

 

[Boney]

Thanks for reminding me to turn it off

 

[Donos]

"Datenschutz" is serious business in Germany.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

I don't even have Facebook but I still disabled the WhatsApp share data with Facebook option.

 

[jorma]

"Datenschutz" is serious business in Germany.

Yeah, it's at instances like these i'm very happy that Germany and not the UK are currently the driving force and most major player in the EU. News like this never comes from the UK.

 

[oti]

Does Facebook even care? I was under the impression they used the whole "We are in Ireland, so we don't have to follow your law" excuse.

¯_(&#12484_/¯

Germany vs. Facebook is still ongoing it seems.

They did give the option to opt out. It was a bit hidden though.

Mh, I can't see the option in the App. Maybe I disablled it immediately and forgot about it.

 

[Joni]

Does Facebook even care? I was under the impression they used the whole "We are in Ireland, so we don't have to follow your law" excuse.

They might claim so, but not all courts are playing ball. They won a court case on that argument in the Netherlands, but lost it in Belgium.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/15/belgium-facebook-court-privacy-breaches-ads

They also lost their safe harbour agreement in Ireland
https://euobserver.com/connected/130569

It is only a matter of time before the EU puts them in line further. Pissing off a country like Germany would help speed up the process.

 

[Sesuadra]

Does Facebook even care? I was under the impression they used the whole "We are in Ireland, so we don't have to follow your law" excuse.

they don't and they use the whole ireland thing and in the end Facebook will win. Whatsapp so is widely used, people just don't care. I mean Whatsapp is so widely used that even may father who was absolutely opposed to even use a smartphone bought one and started using it, because he felt left out.

 

[Joni]

they don't and they use the whole ireland thing and in the end Facebook will win.

In which case the EU has found a nice bonus income for the year.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

they don't and they use the whole ireland thing and in the end Facebook will win. Whatsapp so is widely used, people just don't care. I mean Whatsapp is so widely used that even may father who was absolutely opposed to even use a smartphone bought one and started using it, because he felt left out.

That's not an argument why they'll win. A single student was able to successfully change legislation in regards to facebook and EU US data transfer.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Mh, I can't see the option ion the App. Maybe I disablled it immediately and forgot about it.

Don't know if 30 days have passed yet, otherwise it can't be done anymore. Two ways are as follows:

The first way can only be done if you haven’t accepted the new terms, using the pop-up that will emerge when you open up WhatsApp. If you haven’t, wait until that happens but don’t click “agree” – instead navigate to the smaller “read more” option, and untick the box that says “Share my WhatsApp account information with Facebook”.

If you’ve already accepted those new terms, you can still opt out – as long as it’s within 30 days. You can do that by heading to the settings menu in the app, and pressing on the account tab – there you’ll find a “share my account info” button that you can undress and revoke your permission.

 

[Royal_Phalanx]

Good guy Germany. Good to see a country that cares about data security (unlike the UK who wants to get more authoritarian).

 

[oti]

According to the person responsible for the decree FB does share data between FB and WhatsApp regardless of whether users opt out or not.

Facebook suggeriert, man könne der Weitergabe der Daten widersprechen. Tatsächlich kann der Nutzer aber nur den Verwendungszweck der Daten einschränken. Das bezieht sich aber nur auf Werbezwecke, nicht auf die Übertragung von WhatsApp-Daten. Facebook muss hierfür eine Einwilligung der WhatsApp-Nutzer einholen.

If you decide to opt out FB won't use your data for commercial reasons. But it's still collected and shared. FB can now decide whether it'll sue or not.

http://m.heute.de/ZDF/zdfportal/xml/object/45400716

 

[Dangansona]

What's weird to me is the Germans I know have no intention of leaving the app despite WhatsApp sharing their information. It's not like it's difficult to switch to the many alternatives (including Allo). If this won't do it, what will?

Props to Germany for stopping this though.