Facebook ordered to stop collecting German WhatsApp users’ data

Hamburg’s data regulator ordered Facebook Inc. to stop collecting German user data from its WhatsApp unit, saying the company’s attempt to make users agree to the practice in its updated terms isn’t legal.

Hamburg watchdog Johannes Caspar issued a three-month emergency order, prohibiting Facebook from continuing with the data collection. He’s also asking a panel of European data regulators to take action and issue a bloc-wide regulation. The new WhatsApp terms formally authorizing the data scoop are invalid because they are intransparent, inconsistent and overly broad, he said.

“The order aims to secure the rights and freedoms of millions of users which are agreeing to the terms Germany-wide,” Caspar said in a statement on Tuesday.