“The regulator suggested that the decision wasn’t just about protecting users’ privacy but also to avoid the use of data “to influence voters’ decisions to manipulate democratic choices,” citing the upcoming September 26 parliamentary elections in Germany.”
WhatsApp told users to accept the new terms or lose the app. Hamburg’s data regulator called the terms illegal and banned Facebook from using the data. It took one city office to say no. Now the case goes to a European committee, where Facebook’s lawyers get to slow it down.