European privacy regulators to scrutinise WhatsApp privacy switch - Tech News
PARIS: Facebook's move to relax the privacy policy of WhatsApp, the world's most popular mobile messaging application, will be closely scrutinised, the chair of Europe's leading group of privacy regulators said.WhatsApp, which counts more than a billion users globally, said on Thursday it would start sharing users' phone numbers with Facebook, helping it to target advertisements and friend recommendations across the social media network.It said WhatsApp users could choose not to share their account information with Facebook.
Facebook's WhatsApp privacy changes raise EU, US concerns
After the sale to Facebook was announced in 2014, WhatsApp chief executive officer and co-founder Jan Koum repeatedly said nothing would change with the company's privacy practices.Photo: ReutersWashington/Brussels: Facebook Inc. is coming under scrutiny in the US and Europe for revisions to privacy policies for the free messaging service WhatsApp, which promised users those practices wouldn't change when it was sold to the social networking company two years ago.Last week, Facebook said it would start using data from the messaging app to allow advertisers to better target those users on Facebook and Instagram, in addition to allowing businesses to send messages to WhatsApp users directly.
WhatsApp sharing data with Facebook alarms privacy advocates
Changes announced by WhatsApp have drawn the ire of privacy advocates, who say that the messaging service's plan to share user data with parent company Facebook is against the law and should be blocked.The changes will allow the popular app -- which says it has more than one billion users -- to "coordinate more with Facebook" by sharing the user data, they said.The move prompted The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy to announce they would be filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
What does the WhatsApp privacy policy update signify?
Last week, the news of WhatsApp updating its privacy policy hit the stands.In Searchlight, executive editor Linda Tucci spoke with industry experts to find out how businesses can use mobile messaging platforms to communicate with customers to drive the customer-brand relationship and why the growing popularity of mobile messaging services should interest CIOs.Download this free guide Download 9 FREE Strategic Planning Templates that your Peers Already Use Having a clear-cut IT strategy is key establishing a competitive advantage over any competition.
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