Facebook has suspended the transmission of data from European WhatsApp users to the parent company after the intervening of data protectionists. The provisional stop should allow government officials to express their concerns, and Facebook's time to balance these, explained the world's largest online network.

WhatsApp, with around one billion users, announced at the end of August that it would pass on the user's phone number to Facebook. In addition, the company's mother will share information on the frequency with which the short message service is used. This should improve the advertising and the friends' suggestions in Facebook services, it said.

WhatsApp members could at least contradict the use of their data for personalizing Facebook advertising and friends' suggestions. The phone number, however, is shared in any case with Facebook, if you want to use the app, it was said so far.

Facebook bought WhatsApp about two years ago for about 22 billion dollars. At that time it had been explained that the data remain separate until further notice and WhatsApp should continue to act independently. Even now, it was assured that Facebook does not get access to the contents of the short news - also because they are encrypted.