WhatsApp falls in line, agrees to be transparent on policy changes, says EU

A little more than two years after imposing its unilateral terms of service on users, Meta-owned WhatsApp has agreed to be more transparent about the privacy policy changes, announced the European Commission on Monday.

WhatsApp has agreed that it will explain how the new privacy laws and changes made to it affect the rights of EU users.

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"Consumers have a right to understand what they agree to and what that choice entails concretely, so that they can decide whether they want to continue using the platform," observed Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

Earlier in 2021, WhatsApp in a hasty manner pushed a heavy, jargon-filled, non-cohesive update to its terms of service, violating the bloc's laws.

Moreover, it forced users to accept the update or otherwise risk losing access to the platform. The company did not make it clear exactly what was changing in the new update which confused the general public.

Read more:WhatsApp updates privacy policy, asks users to accept terms or app will be deleted

Consequently, rival platforms such as Telegram, Signal made merry and witnessed an unprecedented surge in downloads and usage as users attempted to protect their privacy.

In July 2021, a complaint was lodged at the European Commission and with the European network of consumer authorities by the Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) - an umbrella group for 46 independent consumer organisations from 32 countries.

The bloc soon issued a series of warnings to the company to get its act right and fix the issues plaguing the platform.

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Meta, more colloquaily known as Facebook has found itself on the wrong end of the EU's wrath on multiple occasions in the recent past.

On Monday, the messaging platform also confirmed that the personal data of users was not being shared with third parties including Meta's subsidiaries such as Facebook, Instagram for advertising purposes.

Last year in December, regulators in the 27-nation bloc levied two fines totalling $414 million (390 million euros) for privacy breaches and banned the company from persuading users to accept tailored advertisements based on their online behaviour.

Read more: Meta hit with US$413 million fine over EU privacy breach

The European Union has some of the strongest privacy laws in the world, which have put pressure on Meta, more colloquially known as Facebookand other big tech corporations.Meta has found itself on the wrong end of the EU's wrath on multiple occasions in the recent past.

Last year in December, regulators in the 27-nation bloc levied two fines totalling $414 million (390 million euros) for privacy breaches and banned the company from persuading users to accept tailored advertisements based on their online behaviour.

(With inputs from agencies)

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