Facebook WhatsApp Data Protection Scandal

The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom for Information is ordering Facebook to halt the unlawful collection and storage of data belonging to 35 million German WhatsApp users. The Commissioner has also ordered that Facebook delete any data that they have already collected from WhatsApp. Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer at Blancco Technology Group commented below.

Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer at Blancco Technology Group:

“The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom for Information is completely justified in ordering Facebook to halt their data collecting and storing activities, seeing as, in Germany, transferral of data has to be agreed under legal contract, which Facebook and WhatsApp have neglected to do. This is yet another demonstration of the disparity between European, particularly German, and US attitudes towards data privacy. I’m very worried about the lack of progress that the US is making on this front and the presidential debate this week has just reinforced my worries with neither the Democratic or Republican party candidates seeming especially well-versed on the issues and technologies required to reduce data and cybersecurity risks.

Ultimately, Facebook has ample resources and political clout to lead the charge in changing things for the better by enacting stringent privacy policies and using legitimate and secure data removal solutions that meet the local data protection requirements in all of the territories it operates within.”