As of August 2016, Facebook and WhatsApp are currently the two largest social networks worldwide, with an estimated two-and-a-half billion active users combined. On February 19, 2014, Facebook announced that it was purchasing WhatsApp for $19 billion. The FTC responded to EPIC’s complaint on August 31, 2016, stating in a letter that Commission staff will “carefully review” the filing. On August 29, 2016, EPIC and CDD filed a complaint with the FTC over the proposed data transfer, charging that WhatsApp’s policy change violates Section 5 of the FTC Act and urging the FTC to investigate and enjoin the proposed practices. This reversal contradicts WhatsApp’s previous promises to users that their personal information would not be used or disclosed for marketing purposes without their consent. Instead, users will be required to opt out within 30 days. According to the announcement, WhatsApp will not obtain users’ opt-in consent before altering its privacy practices. On August 25, 2016, WhatsApp announcedplans to use and transfer user information to Facebook, including phone numbers and other user data, that will be connected with Facebook profiles for targeted advertising and other purposes. The letter explained that failure to obtain users’ opt-in consent before changing WhatsApp privacy practices would be an unfair and deceptive trade practice and may also violate the FTC’s 2012 Consent Order with Facebook. In response to EPIC’s complaint, the FTC sent a letter to Facebook and WhatsApp notifying the companies of their obligation to honor their privacy promises to WhatsApp users. On March 6, 2014, EPIC and the Center for Digital Democracy filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over the deal, urging the Commission to block the sale unless adequate privacy safeguard for WhatsApp user data were established. In response to significant backlash over the privacy concerns raised by the deal, both WhatsApp and Facebook promised users that nothing would change for WhatsApp users’ privacy. The company also promised users, “We do not use your mobile phone number or other Personally Identifiable Information to send commercial or marketing messages without your consent.” Relying on these promises, over one billion individuals provided their phone number and other personal information to WhatsApp as of February 2016. Until August 25, 2016, WhatsApp’s privacy policy promised users that the company “does not collect names, emails, addresses or other contact information from its users’ mobile address book or contact lists” other than mobile phone numbers. End of story.” In a 2012 blog post titled “Why we don’t sell ads,” Koum explained the company’s anti-advertising stance and warned users that “when advertising is involved you the user are the product.” In April 2016, WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encryption for the messaging service. We have not, we do not and we will not ever sell your personal information to anyone. In 2009, founder Jan Koum posted to the WhatsApp official blog, “So first of all, let’s set the record straight. Since in-app advertisements normally rely on data collected from the user’s mobile device, WhatsApp adopted a policy of not collecting or storing users’ data. WhatsApp’s popularity has been due in large part to the company’s commitment to privacy and rejection of in-app advertising. As of February 1, 2016, the service has one billion users worldwide. WhatsApp was launched in 2009 by former Yahoo! engineers Jan Koum and Brian Acton. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Android and Nokia.” The WhatsApp website describes the service: “WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp is a text messaging application for smartphones that uses the internet, rather than an SMS plan, to send messages.
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