Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp user data read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1035-germany-orders-facebook-to-stop-collecting-whatsapp-user-data

The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information said, Facebook was infringing data protection law and had not obtained effective approval from WhatsApp's 35 million users in Germany.

Commissioner Johannes Caspar said, "After the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook two years ago, both parties have publicly assured that data will not be shared between them".

Facebook, the world's biggest social network, bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock in an effort to reach a younger audience. The fact that this is now happening is not only a misleading of their users and the public, but also constitutes a violation of national data protection law.

Facebook, which has its German headquarters in Hamburg and therefore falls under Caspar's jurisdiction, complied with EU data protection law.

The data watchdog said, Facebook and WhatsApp were independent companies that should process their user’s data based on their own terms and conditions and data privacy policies.

The European Commission recently recommended tighter privacy and security requirements for services including WhatsApp and Microsoft-owned video calling service Skype, saying they should be regulated more like traditional telecoms.