The decision was taken by Johannes Caspar, Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Hamburg, who has jurisdiction on the matter given that Facebook Germany is headquartered in the city. 

The changes in whatsapp privacy policy already prompted further investigations from the European institutions, which had cleared Facebook’s 19 billions acquisition of Whatsapp back in 2014. Meanwhile, commentators are alleging that the move violates also an agreement reached with the Federal Trade Commission in the USA in 2012. 

In its statement Tuesday (in German), Mr Caspar questioned in particular the fact that Whatsapp users are not allowed to deny their permission to the data sharing between the two company, they can only opt out from the use of the shared data for advertising purposes.  Facebook announced its intention to appeal the order, and to “work with the Hamburg DPA in an effort to address their questions and resolve any concerns”.