WhatsApp promises EU to change practices
WhatsApp - Photo by Alok Sharma on Pexels
(BRUSSELS) - Following dialogue with consumer protection authorities and the EU Commission, the US WhatsApp messenger service committed Monday to being more transparent on changes to its terms of service.
The company also commits to making it easier for users to reject updates when they disagree with them, and will clearly explain when such rejection leads the user to no longer be able to use WhatsApp's services.
WhatsApp has confirmed that users' personal data are not shared with third-parties or other Meta companies - including Facebook - for advertising purposes.
The dialogue was coordinated by the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and facilitated by the Commission.
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders welcomed WhatsApp's commitments to changing its practices, as well as to actively inform users of any changes to their contract. "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," he said.
For any future policy updates, WhatsApp will:
- explain what changes it intends to make to the users' contracts and how they could affect their rights;
- include the possibility to reject updated terms of service as prominently as the possibility to accept them;
- ensure that the notifications informing about the updates can be dismissed or the review of the updates can be delayed, as well as respect users' choices and refrain from sending recurring notifications.
First letter to WhatsApp – January 2022
Second letter to WhatsApp – June 2022