The European Commission and the Network for Cooperation between EU Member States Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC Network), recently announced the launch of a dialogue with WhatsApp (messaging application) following a complaint from the European Consumer Federation (BEUC) and eight European Consumer Organizations, including the Quality of Life Consumers Association (Ε.Κ.ΠΟΙ.Ζ.Ω), as submitted to the European Commission, through the CPC Network.
Specifically, they call on the company to clarify the ways in which:
Ensures that consumers are informed in a timely and appropriate manner of the consequences of accepting the new terms of service.
– Uses consumers’ personal data for commercial purposes and if consumers know that, WhatsApp shares their data with other Facebook / Meta companies or third parties.
– Confirms that, consumers may not accept the new terms of service, as constant notifications within the application urge consumers to accept these changes.
– The measures it intends to take with regard to consumers who have already accepted the new terms of service, by giving the false impression that this was necessary in order for them to continue using the application.
WhatsApp has until March 2022 to respond to the CPC Network request. Based on the company’s response, the CPC Network, with the support of the European Commission, will assess whether WhatsApp has taken the appropriate measures to comply with EU consumer protection legislation, as part of the European Consumer Federation’s investigation ( BEUC) entitled “What’s WhatsApp?”.
Η Ε.Κ.ΠΟΙ.ΖΩ. and members of POMEK “The Intervention” state that “they expect that, WhatsApp will provide the necessary clarifications and will make changes to its policy always guided by full respect for the rights of consumers, including thousands of users across Europe , who found themselves under constant and unjustified pressure to accept the new terms and its privacy policy, creating a fertile ground for extensive data processing without their lawful and valid consent “.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
Skai
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
