Chat applications (WhatsApp, Skype, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger etc.) shall undergo the same rules as telecom operators. The European Commission is responding to the fact that users of chat apps are not controlled and may send anything they please. Thus, by revising the ePrivacy Directive, the Commission intends to extend the obligation to follow certain rules (in particular with respect to access to communication by security forces, and to the treatment of the users' data for commercial purposes) to providers of chat apps as well. Specific details shall be unveiled in the course of September.
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