A complaint, in cooperation with eight other European Consumer Organizations, was filed today at the General Secretariat for Trade and Consumer Protection by the Consumers’ Association Quality of Life and POMEK “The Intervention” requesting an immediate investigation into its privacy policy. WhatsApp.
According to an announcement by EKPOIZO, consumer organizations’ complaint concerns “the illegal, aggressive and misleading practices of the popular” WhatsApp “messaging application, with millions of users across Europe, due to multiple violations of consumer law.”
It is recalled that a recent survey was conducted, entitled “What about WhatsApp?” (What’s up with WhatsApp?), By the European Consumer Federation (BEUC), of which EKPOIZO is a member, submitted to the European Commission, through the Network for Cooperation between EU Member States in the field of consumer protection (Consumer Protection Cooperation Network-CPC Network).
It is noted that any issues of personal data protection, within the framework of the Data Protection Regulation (DPA), are not part of the complaint, due to the fact that a relevant investigation is already underway in Germany and at European level by the competent authorities.
Why the complaint is made
First, the complaint is based on the constant and annoying notifications, through which this application has been bombarding users daily for some time, in order to accept the new terms and the privacy policy, giving them the impression that, if they do not, will have limited access to system functions.
The specific commercial practices and especially their content, in terms of their nature, time and repetition, exert undue psychological pressure on users, are misleading, aggressive and in short affect their freedom of choice, in violation of the European Directive on Unfair commercial practices.
In addition, the complaint mentions in detail the lack of transparency in the new terms, the complicated and incomprehensible language regarding the changes that WhatsApp has made. It is impossible for consumers / users to accurately and clearly understand the consequences that these changes will have on the protection of their privacy, especially in relation to the transfer of their personal data to Facebook and to third parties. Given this ambiguity, there is a breach of European consumer protection law, which obliges companies to provide clear, accurate and non-misleading terms in their contracts and commercial communications.
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The illegal practice of accepting the new terms is reinforced by the fact that WhatsApp continues to pressure users to accept the new privacy policy, which is being investigated by the European Data Protection Council (EDPB) for violating its provisions. Data Protection Regulation (DPA). This inquiry is being carried out in the context of the adoption of interim measures by the urgent procedure of the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HmbBfDI) iii, in the context of the implementation of the Regulation. In particular, the German Authority banned Facebook Ireland Ltd from processing personal data by users of the WhatsApp application in Germany, on the grounds that the new privacy policy update is illegal and violates users’ rights. The German Authority will pursue a binding decision at national and European level through the scrutiny carried out by the European Data Protection Council (EDPB).
For this reason Ε.Κ.ΠΟΙ.ΖΩ. and the EC POMEK members “The Intervention” call on the Directorate-General for Consumer Protection to launch an investigation into the practices of WhatsApp and the European Data Protection Council (EDPB) and the European Consumer Protection Authorities, to work closely together on these urgent and particularly sensitive issues regarding consumer / user protection.
“Aggressive messages to users”
Panagiota Kalapotharakou, vice president of EKPOIZO said: “WhatsApp has been bombarding users for months in the form of highly aggressive and repetitive pop-up messages, to force them to accept the new terms of use and privacy policy. It informs the users that it will terminate their access to the specific application and its functions, if they do not accept the new terms. However, users do not know what they are really accepting.
WhatsApp continues not to give clear explanations to users as to the result of the acceptance and they themselves are exposed to an unprecedented extensive and completely legal processing of data without their explicit consent. We call on the competent authorities, and due to the large number of users concerned by this application, to take immediate measures against WhatsApp, in order to protect the rights of users “.
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