What does WhatsApp really do with our data and privacy?
All the latest news on Whatsapp and privacy. The article by Carlo Terzano
WhatsApp, what happens? The good Mark Zuckerberg , with all the money at his disposal, could undoubtedly manage the pop up story better with the new privacy conditions to be accepted, perhaps investing a few dollars in a clarifying advertisement, because the risk of seeing his own further compressed privacy was enough to push at least 25 million users from WhatsApp to Telegram and an unknown number on Signal .
FACEBOOK AND THE SORING PRIVACY BUTTON
The current haemorrhage of subscribers is largely linked to Facebook's bad reputation in terms of protecting the privacy of its subscribers. It would be useless to retrace the ordeals and convictions, more or less it is a story known to all. Only a few days ago the European Court of Justice returned to the issue by ruling that the Guarantor Authority of a member state of the Union can sue for violations of the regulation on the protection of personal data in the cases allowed by the GDPR. Is WhatsApp really careful about our privacy?
PRIVACY, WHAT CHANGES ON WHATSAPP
As Start Magazine had already anticipated at the end of last year, from 8 February, to continue using WhatsApp you will need to accept the new conditions that should appear through a pop up when the app starts. According to the Corriere della Sera , which interviewed Ernesto Belisario , author and lawyer expert on these issues, in Italy and in the rest of Europe, in short, in all the areas covered by the very powerful umbrella of the GDPR, the changes are minimal: Facebook , who bought WhatsApp in 2014, will continue to see "the email address with which users register for the app or information about the device from which it is used" and will continue to be unable to use this information for "sending advertising or targeted content ». So precisely the lawyer Ernesto Belisario . "In the rest of the world and in the United States, where concerns for privacy have mingled with concerns about content moderation after the assault on Capitol Hill, it is instead mandatory to accept data such as a mobile number or WhatsApp address book. they can be used by Facebook to show personalized advertisements ”, they write in the Corriere .
FOR US THEREFORE EVERYTHING AS BEFORE?
Of the same opinion an article in the Sole 24 Ore , which has become particularly viral – will it be a coincidence? – on Facebook., Which talks about a storm in a glass of water. “This update – reads the Confindustria newspaper – aims precisely to protect Facebook, which will continue to use the data arriving from the instant messaging app, and to share it with Messenger and Instagram as well. In all of this, however, there is the classic storm in a glass of water. Because in Italy (and in the rest of Europe) this update will have no effect. Starting from the fact that the two entities they manage are different: WhatsApp Ireland for European users and WhatsApp Inc for the rest of the world ”.
THE GUARANTOR INVESTIGATES
Maybe, but in the meantime the Privacy Guarantor has moved : "The message with which Whatsapp warned its users of the updates that will be made, from February 8, in the terms of service – in particular with regard to data sharing with other companies of the group – and the same information on the treatment that will be made of their personal data, are unclear and intelligible and must be carefully evaluated in light of the regulations on privacy. For this reason, the Guarantor for the protection of personal data has brought the matter to the attention of the Edpb, the Board that brings together the European privacy authorities. The Guarantor believes that from the terms of service and from the new information it is not possible for users to understand what changes have been introduced, nor to clearly understand which data processing will actually be carried out by the messaging service after 8 February. This information does not therefore appear suitable for allowing Whatsapp users to express a free and aware will. In any case, the Guarantor reserves the right to intervene, as a matter of urgency, to protect Italian users and enforce the rules on the protection of personal data ".
THE EXTENSION
Meanwhile, on January 16, Facebook postponed the new privacy terms for WhatsApp to May 15, effectively giving users three more months to review and accept them. The announcement follows the hail of criticism rained on the messaging app for updating the privacy policy and the escape from the service to the rivals Signal and Telegram. Initially, WhatsApp had set the deadline for reviewing and accepting the update of the privacy policy at 8 February, under penalty of suspension or deletion of the account. Now, however, the company announces that it will invite its "users to review the information before May 15, when the new business options will be available".
WhatsApp, all you need to know about the new privacy policy . Rapetto's comment
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-combina-davvero-whatsapp-con-i-nostri-dati-e-la-privacy/ on Sun, 17 Jan 2021 17:28:41 +0000.