Science and Tech

If at work they put you in a WhatsApp group without permission, you have to put up with it: the AEPD allows it

The use of WhatsApp in the corporate environment is huge.  It is also a mistake in many ways

Suddenly the boss comes up with the idea that he wants to create a WhatsApp group to keep all the workers informed of any detail or project. Without anyone having asked us for permission, they include us in this group along with our co-workers. And of course, with our personal mobile number.

What may be normal for some may represent an invasion of their space for others. Unfortunately for the latter, the new resolution of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) indicates that this practice complies with the rules.

The AEPD pronounces on WhatsApp groups for work purposes. It is a controversial issue, since we are talking about a communication channel that belongs to an international company such as Meta, but it does not seem to have worried the AEPD enough. In a recent resolution of early January 2023the Spanish data protection agency has considered that the creation of WhatsApp groups is covered by the employment contract and collective agreements, even if the explicit consent of the worker himself is not obtained.

The position of the AEPD arises from a case of a logistics company, where a WhatsApp group was created to report the location of the vans and who was responsible for each route. As the company argued, all the information was published in this group to develop their employment relationship, so the workers could not leave.

Data processing is minimal. It is the main argument of the AEPD. Getting into a WhatsApp group without permission for work purposes does not imply excessive data processing, but rather fits in with the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation. As it is a specific and specific purpose, labor, the AEPD understands that getting into a messaging application like WhatsApp is not out of place.

What is the work cell phone for? One of the company’s arguments that have helped make the resolution favorable is that “the use of this means of communication is essential for your work.” However, it is not specified at any time that company mobiles have been given to the workers. We are also dealing with a small company, so it is understood that resources are limited.

This lack of specificity is worrisome for a resolution like that of the AEPD. angel benedictlawyer and delegate of Data Protection of Secuoya Group, is surprised that the organization dispatch this matter in three or four paragraphswhen it has a lot of juice and notes that this resolution conflicts with positions that the AEPD itself has maintained in the past.

Lots of doubts. The resolution has generated surprise among lawyers who are experts in data protection. Gonzalo Oliver, legal adviser and member of the Spanish Association of Data Protection Delegates, states that “a little unification of criteria would not be bad”. Some days ago, another case with a cleaning worker has led to a different resolution.

It should be noted that the resolutions of the AEPD are not law, since that remains in the hands of the judges. But they are usually the reference for this type of privacy and data management issues that do not always end up coming before the courts.

Jorge Garcia HerreroSecuoya Group attorney, ccontrasts this resolution with the Irish data protection reportwhich spends 200 pages debunking Instagram’s use of the “performance of contract” basis.

The use of WhatsApp and the applications of large technology companies has always been closely monitored, precisely by organizations such as the AEPD. However, resolutions like that of this company and its workers show that the creation of WhatsApp groups for work is widely accepted.

Image | asterfolio



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