In the United Kingdom, Facebook is once again being prevented from sharing data with their subsidiary WhatsApp. This is signaling future internationally focused privacy law actions against cyber companies; chiefly due to the October 2016 U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) surrender of Internet control. These legal decisions could significantly affect future data sharing. This information is being provided for your situational awareness.
- 27 September 2016: Facebook was blocked by a German court from collecting user data from WhatsApp. Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp, is appealing the order.
- 1 October 2016: The U.S. FCC relinquished control over the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), enabling international regulation of ICANN under the Net Neutrality doctrine.
- Legal action against Facebook by the UK and Spanish governments is underway, which could set a precedence for future privacy rights actions against cyber companies internationally.
