EU watchdog rejects call to ban Facebook from processing WhatsApp user data

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2021-07-15 14:30:02

The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken December 2, 2019. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Illustration/File Photo

DUBLIN, July 15 (Reuters) - A European Union privacy watchdog rejected a call by Germany's lead data protection regulator for an EU-wide ban on Facebook's (FB.O) processing of personal data from its WhatsApp subsidiary, but told the social network's lead EU regulator in Ireland to investigate.

The regulator in the city-state of Hamburg announced in May that it was banning the social network from processing personal data from WhatsApp users because it views the messaging app's new terms of use as illegal. read more

The three-month freeze on WhatsApp's collection of user data could have been extended by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), a forum that groups regulators from the bloc's 27 member states.

WhatsApp said in May that the action had no legitimate basis and would not impact the rollout of the update. It welcomed the EDPB's decision on Thursday and said it will work with the Irish regulator to fully address the questions raised.