WhatsApp, an instant messaging platform owned by Facebook, recently updated its terms and conditions and privacy policy, detailing data sharing with Facebook and other partner companies. Users need to accept the terms before February 8, otherwise they will not be able to access the app. Now, the company’s move has caused it trouble.
The Turkish Competition Commission launched antitrust investigations on Facebook and WhatsApp shortly after updating its privacy policy. This move is after local users raised concerns, they are looking for alternatives.
The authorities also called for the new terms to be ‘suspended’ pending the outcome of it investigation. Now it will assess whether the policy change has breached Turkish competition laws that aim to prevent companies from abusing a dominant position.
Most importantly, some government ministers require citizens to use other locally developed messaging apps instead of WhatsApp. As a result, the BiP app received more than 2 million new users within 48 hours after the WhatsApp update.
Globally, WhatsApp’s rival messaging apps (such as Signal and Telegram) have witnessed a sudden rise in demand. Although Signal does not collect any metadata, Telegram collects much less data than services owned by Facebook.
WhatsApp has been widely criticized for its updated privacy policy which states that it now reserves the right to share the data it collects about users of the wider Facebook network, including Instagram, whether or not the user has an account or profile there.
