European data protection authorities sent a letter this Thursday to the CEO and co-founder of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, expressing their doubts and concerns about the changes made to the service's terms of use and privacy policy, thereby exchanging data with Facebook.
The document questions aspects such as the validity of user consent, the effectiveness of the mechanisms offered by the company for users to exercise their rights, and the effects that the new data-sharing policy could have on individuals who are not users of any Facebook services.
The letter highlights that the European Data Protection Authorities will act and make decisions in a coordinated manner, based on their respective competencies and powers, to ensure compliance with the principles and rights established in European data protection legislation.
Additionally, the Authorities request WhatsApp to provide all available information, including specifically the categories of data collected (names, phone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc.), their origin, a list of the recipients of the information, and the effects of data transfers for both users and non-users of the service.
