Meta and WhatsApp are due for a change in their UK data protection regulators in April.

Due to Brexit, the service providers and controllers for UK users of Meta and WhatsApp will change from the current ones based in Ireland to the global outfits based in the US.

Meta has ensured users that the way their data is handled will not change, and will stay in line with UK data protection regulations.

Previously, Meta and WhatsApp were monitored in the UK under GDPR guidelines, the EU-wide data protection regulations, which were overseen by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) as the company’s headquarters were based in Ireland.

Now, any breaches of UK data law will be effect Meta’s global entities which are based in the US.

Meta claims the changes will be minimal and the privacy policies will simply swap references to EU regulations for UK regulations.

The UK Data Privacy Act is still yet to be finalised, but does have different stipulations for the use of behavioral and personalised advertising business models used by Meta. The current legislation is similar to GDPR.

Recently, Meta was found in breach of the EU’s GDPR for requiring users to consent to personalised advertising and data sharing in order to use the service. They are currently appealing the decision.

The company also stressed that there will be no change to data sharing between WhatsApp and Meta.

Currently, the wider EU-wide regulator stepped in on several GDPR cases dealing with Meta’s platforms, calling on the Irish Data Protection Regulator to embark on a formal investigation on Meta’s inter-app data sharing policies.

Controversially, the Irish DPC sidestepped the request, claiming it was an overreach by the EU regulator.

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Data protection champions have long called upon regulators to clamp down on Meta’s use of personal data for advertising.

The new UK regulations will go into effect on 25 April this year, but the plans were in the work since 2020 as Brexit began to take its toll on EU-UK relations.

Users will receive notifications and the new privacy policies will be shared this week.

“Like other companies, we’ve made changes in response to the UK leaving the European Union. UK users remain protected by UK privacy and data protection laws. We’re not making any changes to the way our products work and the updates to our terms and privacy policies don’t change the way we treat UK users’ data,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

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