WhatsApp Messenger is the most popular IM chat application available in the App Store, but it would violate international privacy legislation, according to the authorities in Canada and the Netherlands. The authorities of these two countries made an investigation on the application, claiming that users are obliged to give the application access to its entire database in order to use it, this contravening international laws. The application would access both the phone numbers of those who use it, as well as the phone numbers of those who do not use it, this being prohibited by law.
WhatsApp, one of the most popular apps in the world, contravenes international privacy laws because it forces users to provide access to their entire address book, Canadian and Dutch data protection authorities said. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the Dutch Data Protection Authority, in a joint report released on Monday, said the app violated privacy laws because users have to provide access to all phone numbers in their address book, including both users and non-users of the app. This lack of choice contravenes (Canadian and Dutch) privacy law. Both users and non-users should have control over their personal data and users must be able to freely decide what contact details they wish to share with WhatsApp.
The authorities claim that users do not have the opportunity to choose if they want to provide access to this information, but if they chose not to, they would no longer be able to use the application. The Dutch authorities have stated that they will monitor the activity of the application and if its developers continue to violate international law, pecuniary sanctions could be imposed against them. WhatsApp Messenger is used by tens of millions of iOS, Android OS, etc. smartphone owners, with billions of messages being sent through it every day.
