According to the Superintendency of Commerce and Industry, WhatsApp, which is owned by social media firm Facebook Inc., must adhere to standards that ensure users can access, update, and correct information on them kept in databases and by organizations.
Colombia’s top consumer protection authority ordered WhatsApp to take steps to secure users’ personal data on Wednesday, claiming the company had broken more than half of the laws controlling such information.
The app also fails to comply with 75 percent of data protection rules set down in a 2012 law, according to the regulator.
According to the regulator, WhatsApp collects data on at least 39 million active users per month in the Andean country, which has a population of roughly 50 million people.
The regulator stated that WhatsApp should “create a treatment of information policy (PTI) which complies with all the requirements demanded by Colombian regulation,”
“The PTI should be known to the owners of data who are domiciled or resident in Colombian territory.” It added that the WhatsApp app should also register its database with the regulator.
Non-compliance with the injunction might lead to investigations and fines of up to 2,000 minimum-wage salaries, or the eventual suspension of WhatsApp’s operations in Colombia.