BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's lead data protection regulator for Facebook is banning the social network from processing personal data from WhatsApp users because it views the messaging app's new terms of use as illegal, it said on Tuesday. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, said the action by the Hamburg data protection authority rested on a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose and effect of its update and therefore had no legitimate basis. Since 2018, online privacy has been subject to a European Union rulebook, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Caspar said he was using his power to impose a three-month freeze on Facebook's collection of WhatsApp user data under extraordinary powers foreseen in the GDPR. He said he would also seek an EU-wide ruling at the European Data Protection Board, a forum that groups regulators from the bloc's 27 member states.

Source: The Star May 11, 2021 12:11 UTC