<p>Turkey on Friday joined a host of other countries in fining Facebook's ubiquitous WhatsApp messaging service for failing to sufficiently protect user data.</p>.<p>The 1,950,000-lira ($235,000, €200,000) penality was imposed after months of confusion over whether WhatsApp had introduced its controversial new data sharing rules in Turkey.</p>.<p>WhatsApp unrolled a policy change earlier this year that allowed it to collect more personal data -- including phone numbers and location -- for everyone who agreed with its new terms of service.</p>.<p>It offered users no other option besides dropping the service outright.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read — <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/whatsapp-finally-fixes-out-of-bounds-data-exposure-vulnerability-1026520.html" target="_blank">WhatsApp finally fixes 'Out-Of-Bounds' data exposure vulnerability</a></strong></p>.<p>It then delayed imposing the change in Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's media office moved its communications to a local equivalent to WhatsApp called BiP.</p>.<p>Erdogan's government and WhatsApp have since issued contradictory statements about whether the new data rules had been applied in Turkey.</p>.<p>Turkey's Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) said it was fining WhatsApp because it no longer offered users "free will".</p>.<p>"Persons are forced to give consent to the contract as a whole, thereby trying to exclude express consent," the ruling said.</p>.<p>The decision came one day after Ireland -- which houses the European headquarters of Facebook -- fined WhatsApp €225 million for similar data offences.</p>.<p>Moscow fined the two services and Twitter in August for failing to store data of Russian users on local servers.</p>
<p>Turkey on Friday joined a host of other countries in fining Facebook's ubiquitous WhatsApp messaging service for failing to sufficiently protect user data.</p>.<p>The 1,950,000-lira ($235,000, €200,000) penality was imposed after months of confusion over whether WhatsApp had introduced its controversial new data sharing rules in Turkey.</p>.<p>WhatsApp unrolled a policy change earlier this year that allowed it to collect more personal data -- including phone numbers and location -- for everyone who agreed with its new terms of service.</p>.<p>It offered users no other option besides dropping the service outright.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read — <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/whatsapp-finally-fixes-out-of-bounds-data-exposure-vulnerability-1026520.html" target="_blank">WhatsApp finally fixes 'Out-Of-Bounds' data exposure vulnerability</a></strong></p>.<p>It then delayed imposing the change in Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's media office moved its communications to a local equivalent to WhatsApp called BiP.</p>.<p>Erdogan's government and WhatsApp have since issued contradictory statements about whether the new data rules had been applied in Turkey.</p>.<p>Turkey's Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) said it was fining WhatsApp because it no longer offered users "free will".</p>.<p>"Persons are forced to give consent to the contract as a whole, thereby trying to exclude express consent," the ruling said.</p>.<p>The decision came one day after Ireland -- which houses the European headquarters of Facebook -- fined WhatsApp €225 million for similar data offences.</p>.<p>Moscow fined the two services and Twitter in August for failing to store data of Russian users on local servers.</p>