Technology company Facebook has been able to collect data from users of its WhatsApp messaging software under a new data use policy. The Argentine government announced today that it has ordered Facebook to suspend the implementation of the new terms.
A resolution published in the Official Gazette states that the new terms should be suspended for at least six months in order to prevent “abuse of dominant position”.
At the same time, the Argentine authorities responsible for protecting personal data and the use of public information will also lead an investigation into Facebook’s plans.
Facebook informed WhatsApp users earlier this year that they must agree to a new data use policy in order to continue using the software.
In Argentina, 76 percent of mobile phone users use WhatsApp, according to the Secretariat of Internal Trade.
The Secretariat said it was necessary to suspend the data usage policy when the parent company “enjoys a dominant market position through social media such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp”.
The Secretariat added that data sharing allows Facebook to access user information “to a degree that no other company can”.
The Secretariat noted that “the disparity between WhatsApp and its users” would force most people to accept the new conditions and agree that WhatsApp “collects too much personal details” and shares them with other Facebook Group applications.
Argentina is not the only country blocking Facebook from sharing user data between different applications, with the United States, India, Brazil and Germany also taking similar measures.
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