WhatsApp LLC (Meta Platforms)

Enforcement notice issued; settled by court order. Information Regulator, 10 September 2024.

Record ID

za-ir-2024-0004

Jurisdiction

South Africa

Regulator

Information Regulator

Type

enforcement notice

Date decided

10 September 2024

Respondent type

private

Sector

technology

Violations

unlawful processing, inadequate consent mechanisms, failure to specify purpose, inadequate transparency, inadequate security safeguards, PAIA manual not accessible

Provisions cited

POPIA 2013, PAIA 2000

Outcome

enforcement notice issued; settled by court order

Status

final

Source

Official document ↗

Source integrity

SHA-256 ac3b5608b72e0ec3…

Record verified

30 July 2026

The facts

The Information Regulator engaged WhatsApp from 2021 over its practice of giving European Union users stronger privacy protections than South African users, and issued a formal enforcement notice against WhatsApp for failing to comply with POPIA. The Regulator confirmed on 13 November 2025 that the matter had been settled, with the settlement to be made a court order.

Orders and outcome

Enforcement notice requiring POPIA compliance; matter subsequently settled, settlement to be made an order of court.

BIG-TECH · CONSENT · TRANSPARENCY · CROSS-BORDER

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