T-209/21 is the case number that —regardless of the winner— will change if not the world, at least the industry based on personal data. On 1 November 2021, WhatsApp Ireland challenged before the European Court of Justice a binding decision of the European Data Protection Supervisor, which, in summary, questions how the company informs users and the nature and extent of the legitimate interest to profile users without their consent. The messaging platform’s defence argues on seven points, of which the most relevant are: the fact that the European Supervisor has interpreted the definition of ‘personal data’ in an extensive (and not allowed) way and the violation of the ‘innocent until prove guilty’ principle by requiring Whatsapp to demonstrate the actual effectiveness of its user data anonymisation process instead of leaving the competent authorities with the duty to ascertain violations. These are two deadly blows because they are aimed at the two Achilles heels of the GDPR by Andrea Monti – Initially published in Italian on Strategikon – an Italian Tech blog. Continue reading “GDPR is the victim of the ‘Analytics War’”
