In recent hours, the commotion generated by Zuckerberg’s statements about the blackout of Facebook and Instagram in Europe has given much to talk about. A modification in which, however, WhatsApp has not been included in the equation, although it is true that the messaging app that we all use on a daily basis also belongs to Meta.
The possibility of the two main social networks leaving Europe has seemed more like a trial balloon than something possible. The company’s large volume of users in Europe and the amount of revenue it earns is significant, making it difficult for it to decide to close suddenly. With these statements, the CEO of Meta would be seeking to force an agreement, in order to process user data in a way much closer to the one used in the United States and not be so conditioned by European laws.
WhatsApp would come out unscathed
With the intention that the popular messaging application continue to operate in Europe without problems, the American company has carried out a move in your privacy policy. Up to now she was already trying to be clear, but now she is even more so. A twist that comes just after the commotion generated by Zuckerberg’s statements. The obligation to exercise this change has been known for a long time, but it had not done anything until now, since they have marked March 2022 as the deadline to explain how the European authorities treat the data before.
To get this information to all users, WhatsApp itself has made a statement open to everyone, in which it shows its intention to be transparent. In it we can read the following words:
We know that privacy is a priority for our users, and that’s why we want to be very clear.
The text marks the path to allow the messaging app WhatsApp does not have to stop operating in Europe and have nothing to do with what happens on Facebook and Instagram. For now, we could think that in this app the data was not treated for commercial purposes in such a clear and downloaded way, but Europe asked that it express in detail what it does with the data. He wants it to show in a simple way where he sends them and the companies with which he trades them to later offer us ads adapted to us.
Among all that is declared in the statement we also find a principle of your data, making it known to any user. Where we see that the Meta company obtains the phone numbers of our contacts and sells them to companies around the world. Information that many do not want to be known, but if it is legally included in the privacy policy, it should not affect the company.
Although this data is collected in order to provide service globally, the ball is now in the court of Consumer Protection, who will decide if it is enough or if they need to make changes in the way they treat the information.
Thanks to these clarifications, we can now conclude that although Meta is considering withdrawing from Europe, which already seems unlikely, it does not want to do so with WhatsApp at all. The company also knows that Telegram is very popular among users and would be possibly the easiest app to replace.
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