Brussels:
The European Consumer Organisation announced Monday it had lodged a complaint with the European Commission against Facebook’s try to modify the terms of service for the WhatsApp messenging service.
The US tech titan has sought to nudge customers of its messenger platform to accept new terms of service, but Facebook denies that this would enable WhatsApp to share more user information with its major social platform.
Regulators and privacy activists have condemned the move, and authorities in some nations — such as EU member Germany — have stepped in to to impose short-term bans.
In a statement announcing its complaint, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) accused Facebook of “unfairly” pressuring customers to accept the handover and failing to clarify it.
BEUC director common Monique Goyens stated: “WhatsApp has been bombarding users for months with aggressive and persistent pop-up messages to force them to accept its new terms of use and privacy policy.
“They’ve been telling customers that their access to their app will be reduce off if they do not accept the new terms. Yet buyers never know what they are basically accepting.”
The European Commission is the 27-nation bloc’s major market place regulator and has in current years launched a series of investigations and actions into the US giants it sees as net gatekeepers.
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