Russia To Mull Reaction To WhatsApp's New Privacy Policy Violating Law - Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2021) The head of the Russian lower house's information policy committee, Alexandr Khinshteyn, told Sputnik on Saturday that the committee would discuss with Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor measures in response to WhatsApp's privacy policy update that contradicts the country's legislation.

WhatsApp's new controversial privacy policy that mandates sharing data with parent company Facebook comes into effect on Saturday. It provides that users who did not accept the new terms and privacy policy they would be able to only receive incoming calls and notifications, while reading and sending messages would not be available.

"I believe that WhatsApp's policy update contradicts Russia's legislature," Khinshtein said, adding "We will discuss with Roskomnadzor, as a regulator in this area, what might be the response from Russia and what the official assessment would be."

The lawmaker noted that sharing personal data � the inalienable property of their owner � with third parties without the owner's consent was inadmissible.

Commenting on retaliatory measures, the official said that limiting the app's operations in Russia was "technically possible," but a broader discussion was needed to make a decision on a point of substance.

WhatsApp announced early this year the new policy that initially provided the suspension of the accounts of those who would not accept the new terms. After a chorus of concerns raised by users following the announcement, and because of Facebook's tarnished track record on privacy, WhatsApp announced it would delay adopting the new policy from February till May.