Germany Bans Mass Data Exchange Between Facebook, WhatsApp

The Hamburg commissioner for data protection and freedom of information issued on Tuesday an administrative order prohibiting Facebook from collecting and storing information of German WhatsApp users and obliging Facebook to delete data already obtained from WhatsApp.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the commissioner’s press release, when Facebook bought WhatsApp two years ago both companies said that there would be no exchange of personal data between them.

"This administrative order protects the data of about 35 million WhatsApp users in Germany. It has to be their decision, whether they want to connect their account with Facebook. Therefore, Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened," Johannes Caspar said in a press release.

The press release added that current developments were misleading for users as well as infringed on the German data protection law.