Taroudant - The National Committee for Monitoring the Protection of Personal Data (CNDP) warned Moroccan Internet users that social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are tricking people into giving up their personal data.

Taroudant – The National Committee for Monitoring the Protection of Personal Data (CNDP) warned Moroccan Internet users that social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are tricking people into giving up their personal data.

The CNDP called on Moroccans to be careful with the data they share online, which may be sold to “third parties for spying purposes.”

Said Ihray, the Chairman of the National Committee, warned that “personal data have become a treasure for organizations that are active in the field of telecommunications, banks and insurance companies, which gain huge profits by selling people’s info to media agencies and intelligence services throughout the world.”

During the seminar organized by the CNDP on Saturday under the title “The Role Of Civil Society in the Protection of Privacy and Personal Data,” Ihray said that Morocco must establish a private legal framework for the protection of personal data and give citizens the “right” to protect their personal data.

Last year, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc., said that many of his biggest competitors, like Facebook and Google, are selling users’ personal data.

While he didn’t explicitly name of any of Apple’s competitors, Cook said, “Some of the most prominent and successful companies have built their businesses by lulling their customers into complacency about their personal information.”

Cook alleged that these companies store all possible information about Internet users and attempt to monetize the data.

According to Business Insider, citing a report by Dell SecureWorks, personal information is sold on the “dark web” for sums that vary from $12 for a single U.S. credit card with track data to bank credentials that may sell for $1,000.