Personal Data Protection Agency: Be careful if using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, they have changed their rules

(Patria) - The Personal Data Protection Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina calls for caution from citizens when posting personal data on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp pages.

As they warned this morning, recent changes initiated by Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook) also support this call.

Namely, Meta changed its privacy policy for its users on June 26 this year without notifying users in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in some other countries in the region that are not members of the European Union.

- The changes relate to the processing and use of all user data (personal data, photos, videos, posts, comments, etc.) of this company for the development of an as yet undefined and unexplained artificial intelligence technology, without clear notification of the purpose and intent of developing such technology - stated the Agency.

They also added that users from Bosnia and Herzegovina were not given the option to refuse such use of data. Users from Bosnia and Herzegovina were not informed about the news, while citizens of the European Union received a warning when logging into the platforms that the policy was changing, and then an option to withdraw their data from the planned artificial intelligence training.

- We believe that Meta was obliged to offer the same option to users in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region that are not members of the European Union. Institutions responsible for personal data protection in the region are facing the negative fact that Meta has not appointed representatives with whom the institutions could cooperate.

On July 29, the Agency contacted Meta with a request to provide information about representatives with whom they could establish contact regarding the aforementioned issue. We have not yet received a response from Meta - the Agency states.

They add that they expect representatives of that company to contact them in due course in order to permanently resolve the issue of informing citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the data processing carried out by Meta, and to ensure citizens have the same rights to personal data protection and privacy as citizens of the European Union.