The European Data Protection Board on Thursday said Facebook’s practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined as a matter of priority by the Irish privacy watchdog, its main regulator in the region. AFP
The European Data Protection Board on Thursday said Facebook’s practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined as a matter of priority by the Irish privacy watchdog, its main regulator in the region. AFP
The European Data Protection Board on Thursday said Facebook’s practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined as a matter of priority by the Irish privacy watchdog, its main regulator in the region. AFP
The European Data Protection Board on Thursday said Facebook’s practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined as a matter of priority by the Irish privacy watchdog, its main regulator in the reg

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Technology

Facebook evades EU ban on WhatsApp data use

Data protection panel stops short of imposing bloc-wide ban on data access

Bloomberg

July 15, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Facebook escaped a possible EU ban on its use of WhatsApp customer data but faces an investigation of new terms and services that have sparked outrage among consumer rights campaigners.

The European Data Protection Board, a panel of EU authorities, on Thursday said Facebook’s practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined “as a matter of priority” by the Irish privacy watchdog, its main regulator in the region.

“Considering the high likelihood of infringements in particular for the purpose of safety, security and integrity of WhatsApp” and other Facebook units, “the EDPB considered that this matter requires swift further investigations”, the EU agency said.

WhatsApp announced the policy changes in January but was forced to delay its introduction until May, because of confusion and user backlash over what data the messaging service collects and how it shares that information with parent Facebook.

This week, consumer rights campaigners filed a complaint against WhatsApp over its “aggressive” policy that remains “opaque”.

In Thursday’s decision, the EDPB stopped short of imposing a provisional EU-wide ban on data access, as requested by the Hamburg data privacy commissioner.

The German authority in May imposed a three-month ban on Facebook to stop it from collecting German users’ data from its WhatsApp unit, and asked EU regulators to take a bloc-wide decision.

A new Irish probe into Facebook and WhatsApp over how user data is being processed or shared would add to some 28 investigations the Irish Data Protection Commission has open into Silicon Valley giants, including Apple and Google, which all have their EU base in Ireland.

We will work with the Irish Data Protection Commission as our lead regulator in the region in order to fully address the questions raised by the EDPB
WhatsApp

Facebook accounts for nine of these investigations and more are pending into its WhatsApp and Instagram businesses.

WhatsApp said it welcomed the decision not to extend the German regulator’s order across the EU, saying it “was based on fundamental misunderstandings as to the purpose and effect of the update to our terms of service”.

“We remain fully committed to delivering secure and private communications for everyone and will work with the Irish Data Protection Commission as our lead regulator in the region in order to fully address the questions raised by the EDPB,” WhatsApp said.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation gave data regulators unprecedented powers to fine companies as much as 4 per cent of their annual sales.

The Abu Dhabi Awards explained:

What are the awards? They honour anyone who has made a contribution to life in Abu Dhabi.

Are they open to only Emiratis? The awards are open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, living anywhere in the world.

When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.

How do I nominate someone? Through the website.

When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.

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Europa League final

Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports

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Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: July 15, 2021, 1:32 PM
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