Controversial WhatsApp policy change hit with consumer law complaint in Europe
The consumer protection association umbrella group, the BEUC, said today that together with eight of its member organizations it has filed a complaint with the European Commission and the European network of consumer authorities:

"WhatsApp remains very vague about the sections it has removed and the ones it has added. It is up to users to seek out this information by themselves. Ultimately, it is almost impossible for users to clearly understand what is new and what has been amended. The opacity of the new policies is in breach of Article 5 of the UCTD [Unfair Contract Terms Directive] and is also a misleading and unfair practice prohibited under Article 5 and 6 of the UCPD [Unfair Commercial Practices Directive]."

In the meanwhile, calls for Europe's regulators to work together to better tackle the challenges posed by platform power are growing, with a number of regional competition authorities and privacy regulators actively taking steps to dial up their joint working - in a bid to ensure that expertise across distinct areas of law doesn't stay siloed and, thereby, risk disjointed enforcement, with conflicting and contradictory outcomes for Internet users.

There seems to be a growing understanding on both sides of the Atlantic for a joined up approach to regulating platform power and ensuring powerful platforms don't simply get let off the hook.
https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/12/c...t-with-consumer-law-complaint-in-europe/

The Consumer Voice @beuc:
Here's our letter to @EU_Justice about WhatsApp. We're filing a complaint against the Facebook-owned company for aggressive practices and unclear & misleading changes in its policies
https://twitter.com/beuc/status/1414530718164824064

Live and let live