Facebook banned from gathering WhatsApp dataSeptember 28, 2016 - 13:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook's gathering of data from users' WhatsApp accounts has hit a stumbling block, after German regulators ruled that the social network must stop the process, Digital Spy reports. The data protection commissioner of the city of Hamburg says the collection of users' information in Germany must cease immediately (via Gizmodo). Johannes Caspar, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, said in a statement: "After the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook two years ago, both parties have publicly assured that data will not be shared between them. "The fact that this is now happening is not only a misleading of their users and the public, but also constitutes an infringement of national data protection law." The privacy watchdog, which has authority over Facebook activities in the country, has also ordered that all information already gathered from the roughly 35 million users in Germany be deleted. Caspar added: "In addition, there are many millions of people whose contact details were uploaded to WhatsApp from the user's address books, although they might not even have a connection to Facebook or WhatsApp. "According to Facebook, this gigantic amount of data has not yet been collected. Facebook's answer, that this has merely not been done for the time being, is cause for concern that the gravity of the data protection breach will have much a more severe impact." Facebook has said it is willing to work with the German regulator on finding a solution. WhatsApp caused outrage when it was announced last month that its data would be shared with Facebook. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. U.S. “deeply troubled” by Azerbaijan's arrest of civil society members The United States is deeply troubled by the continued arrest of members of Azerbaijani civil society, Matthew Miller has said. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. For the first time, Armenia votes in favor of Georgia resolution in UN Armenia on Tuesday, June 4 voted for the first time in favor a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. |