The German equivalent of the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties in France) in Hamburg has just summoned Facebook to appear to explain its privileged relationship withWhatsApp. As a reminder, the Palo Alto giant bought the messaging company with the green logo for nearly twenty-two billion dollars in February 2014.
Since then, the platform has even been forced by legislators to display its logo on the application in question and on Instagram, for greater transparency. But this is apparently not enough, since this time the authorities simply wantprohibit the parent company from collecting the personal data of its subsidiary. Even though this is precisely its core business.
His days are numbered
The regulator hopes to take action by May 15. Until then, Facebook executives are expected to testify atauditionswhich are likely to become a landmark. The principle is more or less the same as forquestions about Apple that arise in the United States. The difference is that the German jurisdiction does not always offer the same guarantees as its counterpart across the Atlantic, especially since the GDPR is at stake here.
For the moment, however, it is impossible to know what decision is in the sights of the leaders. However, we can assume that our neighbors aim to limit the scope of action of Mark Zuckerberg's firm, via an order which could then set a precedent. We know in fact that our German neighbors are closely scrutinized by their borders, like a mentor for all of Europe.
What consequences to expect?
If WhatsApp were prohibited from sharing the personal data it collects with Facebook, then a whole section of the social network's activity could be seriously impacted. Because targetingadvertisers, vector of the majority of its income, has today become so precise and valuable in the eyes of companies that many can no longer do without it to find customers.
However, there could be a solutionbypassrelatively simple, consisting of calling on an external service provider who would be responsible for contracting with WhatsApp and then reselling it to Facebook. This is what Amazon imagined when France banned it from delivering during confinement.
