About: Whatsapp
Digital Brief: DGA adopted, DSA opinion, WhatsApp complaints
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “We want to build up a European data economy. The personal data revolution was made by Facebook, Google and others....
‘Fit for 55,’ Belarus migrant stand off and Whatsapp complaints
In our last episode of the season, the Yellow Room brings you all the reaction to Europe’s “Fit for 55” climate package unveiled this week. To break down the components of this story we spoke with EURACTIV energy and environment reporter Kira Taylor.
German data watchdogs welcome end of ‘forum shopping’ under GDPR regime
Germany's data protection authorities have welcomed a ruling by the EU Court of Justice that gives national authorities more leeway in taking action against online platforms data branches under urgency provisions of the EU data protection framework. EURACTIV Germany reports.
German legal dispute over Facebook data use sent to European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice has been asked to clarify whether Germany's competition authority was right to order Facebook to halt its data collection practices, due to concerns over alleged abuse of its dominant market position and violations of EU data protection law.
Spain to launch Whatsapp channel to fight vaccine disinformation
Spain’s health ministry will soon launch a WhatsApp interactive channel to fight against disinformation on COVID-19 vaccines, El País reported. This should help reduce the percentage of Spaniards who still refuse to get vaccinated. EURACTIV's partner EuroEfe reports.
Facebook faces US lawsuits that could force sale of Instagram, WhatsApp
Facebook Inc could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the US Federal Trade Commission and nearly every US state filed lawsuits against the social media company.
EU states ponder means to access encrypted data
EU member states want more competences to be able to look into messages with end-to-end encryption, according to the draft Council decisions which has been made available to EURACTIV Germany.
Germany’s highest court orders Facebook to stop cross-platform data sharing
With immediate effect, the Facebook company must stop merging and sharing user data from its Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram platforms in Germany, according to a ruling by the country's highest court. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Irish data protection authority under fire over Facebook case
In an open letter, online privacy activist Max Schrems has criticised the Irish data protection commission's handling of a complaint against social media giant Facebook and called on the European Union to step in. EURACTIV Germany reports.
WhatsApp limits message forwarding to slow spread of coronavirus misinformation
Facebook's WhatsApp tightened message forwarding limits on Tuesday, restricting users to sharing forwarded content one chat at a time after a jump in messages touting bogus medical advice since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
French economy ministry wants to overhaul EU competition policies
The French Ministry of Economy wants to change competition practices and trade policy in Europe. Its proposals also aim to tackle new digital conglomerates. EURACTIV France reports.
Germany to restrict Facebook’s data gathering activities
Facebook has been ordered to curb its data collection practices in Germany after a landmark ruling on Thursday that the world’s largest social network abused its market dominance to gather information about users without their consent.
‘God help us’: Khashoggi’s hacked WhatsApp messages provide clues about killing
Messages obtained from the WhatsApp account of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi shine a light on the possible reasons behind his death, depicting the full extent of his animosity towards Saudi Arabia and his plans to establish an "electronic army" of activists against the regime.
Silicon Valley giants hit with first complaints on day one of GDPR
Big American technology companies were the first to be hit with complaints for how they handle users’ personal information under the new EU data protection regulation known as GDPR.
National privacy watchdogs brace for new pan-EU powers
Europe’s powerful data protection regulators are banding together to coordinate how they investigate and sanction misbehaving companies before a major overhaul of the bloc’s privacy law takes effect in May.
MEPs approve ePrivacy bill amid political fight
MEPs in the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) approved stricter new privacy rules for telecoms services and apps like WhatsApp and Skype that divided political groups and drew backlash from the telecoms and tech industries.
Brussels promises more police access to encrypted data, but no backdoors
The European Commission insisted that it does not want to weaken encryption as part of its latest push to give law enforcement authorities more access to private data.
Member states want to change investment rules in telecoms overhaul
EU countries have changed measures on network investment in a major telecoms bill and are kicking negotiations into the second half of this year.
EU fines Facebook €110 million over WhatsApp deal
European Union antitrust regulators fined Facebook €110 million on Thursday (18 May) for giving misleading information during a vetting of its deal to acquire messaging service WhatsApp in 2014.
EU seeks new powers to peek into ‘sensitive’ corporate information
The European Commission on Tuesday (2 May) unveiled a proposal that could significantly expand its powers to request access to sensitive corporate data as a way to enforce EU single market rules or to inform new pieces of legislation.
EU to propose new rules targeting encrypted apps in June
The European Commission will propose new measures in June to make it easier for police to access data on internet messaging apps like WhatsApp, EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová said yesterday (28 March), heeding calls from national interior ministers.
Telecoms firms and internet services like WhatsApp face tougher new privacy rules
Telecoms providers will face fines of up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover if they're caught breaking new EU privacy rules that will also hit firms processing vast amounts of machine data in the internet of things.
Facebook gave misleading information during WhatsApp buyout, Commission says
The European Commission could fine Facebook up to €170 million after it accused the social media giant with providing misleading information during its acquisition of WhatsApp.