The South African Information Regulator (IR), a body within the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, has expressed concern about the proposed changes that the free messaging service WhatsApp plans to introduce soon. The IR said it was concerned that WhatsApp cannot process phone numbers from users’ mobile phones and pass them on to a third party, in this case Facebook, as this could be a contravention of South African privacy laws, specifically the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).