The WhatsApp acquisition by the social media shark Facebook has been quite controversial. Not only for the big values involved – something like $19 billion – but also because of the dust it has raised all over the world regarding customer privacy. As we have covered before, one of the most controversial measures of this takeover – that turned out to be a major headline around the globe – was the fact that it involved the sharing of personal user information between the messaging app and Zuckerberg’s golden egg laying goose. Although this was something that could have been easily be avoided or reversed by users themselves, the world reacted in anger. Even some governments started to pressure Facebook, something that made the social media giant to put a halt on its measures in Europe.
What’s Up? Germany Sneezed…
The initial measure was heavily criticized by several European data collection authorities. Twenty-eight of them have even signed an open letter that was recently sent to Jan Koum, WhatsApp CEO, in order to suspend such data collection until all the legality that has been surrounding the process was worked out. In addition, Germany had already legally ordered Facebook to delete all the user collected data of their citizens via WhatsApp migration, as it was “an infringement of national data protection laws”. Other European countries like France, the UK, Italy and more, are currently conducting their own investigations regarding the same case – considering that quite a few have somewhat strict online privacy rules the predicted outcomes are expected to be the same.
Notwithstanding, the truth is that Facebook’s European regulatory body (the Irish Data Protection Commissioner’s office) has indeed confirmed that Facebook had ceased the collection of data in European countries. On the other hand though, this can only be a preventive temporary measure while laws are still being debated.
Avoiding All The Paperwork
While law frames are being worked out, everywhere in the world Facebook is still collecting users’ WhatsApp data, meaning that you have to be the one being one step ahead to protect yourself in the best way possible. With the use of a VPN you will be granted anonymous use of both services, and your data will be completely encrypted on a military-grade level. In addition, choosing the right protocol will also work towards keeping your device’s curtains closed to any snooping eyes, including hackers, governments and ISPs.
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