Decide WhatsApp privacy case in a month, says EU watchdog amid objections by peers

EU privacy watchdog EDPB on Wednesday gave the Irish data protection agency a month to issue a long-delayed decision on compliance by Facebook’s WhatsApp after its peers objected to its draft finding.

The agency, which leads oversight of Facebook because the company’s European headquarters are based in Ireland, has been investigating WhatsApp to see if it complies with transparency obligations specified by EU privacy rules known as GDPR.

It sought feedback from its peers in December but was unable to find a consensus regarding its draft decision.

The other national watchdogs objected to the type of infringements identified by the Irish, whether the specific data in question was personal data and the appropriateness of the proposed sanctions.