(Add details, quotes and context)
By Foo Yun Chee and Charlotte Van Campenhout
BRUSSELS, March 6 (Reuters) – Messaging app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, has agreed to be more transparent about changes to its privacy policy introduced in 2021, the European Commission said on Monday, following complaints from consumer organizations everywhere. Europe.
The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and the European Network of Consumer Authorities told WhatsApp last year that they had failed to clarify the changes in clear and intelligible language, which violated the bloc’s laws. .
National regulators in EU members can sanction companies for breaches.
WhatsApp has agreed to now explain changes to EU user contracts and how they might affect their rights, while also agreeing to prominently display the option for users to accept or reject the changes and ensure they can close with easy push notifications about updates.
The company also confirmed that users’ personal data is not shared with third parties or other Meta companies, including Facebook, for advertising purposes.
“Consumers have the right to understand what they are agreeing to and what this choice actually entails, so that they can decide whether they want to continue using the platform,” said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.
(Edited in Spanish by Carlos Serrano)