Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Board (KVKK) Director Faruk Bilir said Saturday that it has demanded paperwork and further information from Facebook-owned messaging giant WhatsApp regarding its new privacy policies.
Bilir also said that the investigation of the KVKK’s Personal Data Protection Council is focusing on fundamental principles, data processing terms, transfer of data to foreign countries, direct consent and whether direct consent is made obligatory by the company to use its product.
The director also said that the investigation that was launched on Jan. 12 is still ongoing.
"We have notified WhatsApp and demanded paperwork and further information. We are following the process closely," he said.
The Turkish Competition Board (RK) also previously announced that it had launched an investigation into Facebook and WhatsApp over the changes to the messaging app’s data-sharing rules.
In a written statement, the board said it had ruled the data-collection requirement should be suspended until the probe is complete.
The moves came after WhatsApp said it was updating its terms of service and privacy rules, forcing users to agree to let Facebook and its subsidiaries collect WhatsApp data that includes users’ phone numbers, contacts’ phone numbers, locations and more.
The company warned users in a pop-up notice that they "need to accept these updates to continue using WhatsApp" – or delete their accounts.
The app on Jan. 15 postponed its Feb. 8 deadline for accepting the update to May 15.
It said that the update was focused on allowing users to message with businesses and that the update does not affect personal conversations, which will continue to have end-to-end encryption.
Privacy advocates have jumped on the changes, pointing to what they say is Facebook’s poor track record of supporting consumer interests when handling their data, with many suggesting users migrate to other platforms.
Turkish WhatsApp users, concerned about that the possible sharing of their personal information, began downloading alternative messaging applications such as BiP, Signal or Telegram. Many chose to close down their WhatsApp accounts even though the messaging app tried to assure users that the content of messages would remain encrypted.