Privacy groups file complaint over WhatsApp data sharing

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The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy filed a federal complaint over WhatsApp’s decision to share consumer data with parent company Facebook. WhatsApp announced recently that it was planning to provide information about its users for Facebook's targeted advertising unless users choose to opt out. EPIC and the Center for Digital Democracy say that the change betrays previous promises Facebook has made on privacy. “When Facebook acquired WhatsApp, WhatsApp made a commitment to its users, to the Federal Trade Commission, and to privacy authorities around the world not to disclose user data to Facebook,” said EPIC President Marc Rotenberg. “Now they have broken that commitment.”

Specifically, the complaint invokes the FTC’s jurisdiction to police unfair and deceptive practices, as well as a 2012 agreement between Facebook and the agency that the company would take certain steps to protect user privacy. Central to their case is a long history of WhatsApp making privacy a core part of its brand. The company now makes end-to-end encryption the default setting for its users, for example, and over the years has said that it is not interested in leveraging its customers’ info.


Privacy groups file complaint over WhatsApp data sharing