Facebook Ignores Germany's Data Collection Ban for Now

Germany has banned Facebook to collect data on WhatsApp users within the country's borders. According to the Hamburg Data Protection and Freedom of Information Commission (HmbBfDI), the app's new data collection policies, as well as Facebook's aggressive efforts to persuade users to accept, tamper with the GDPR regulations.   In a press release, HmbBfDI commissioner Johannes Caspar stated that Facebook has a history of user-privacy abuse, citing the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the recent leak of 500 million records as examples.  The commissioner is particularly concerned that WhatsApp's less transparent advertising policies may have a role to play in the German elections coming up in September.  Caspar stated that "In view of the nearly 60 million WhatsApp users with a view to the upcoming federal elections in Germany in September 2021, the ris...