The launch of WhatsApp’s controversial new privacy policy does not look better the second time, with the Indian government calling on the message giant to withdraw the change, en German regulators seeking an EU-wide ban on updating, amid great concern about the implications of the new data-sharing processes.
As you may recall, WhatsApp already notified users of an arrival in January change in its data sharing policy which can see information about people’s interactions with businesses in WhatsApp shared with parent company Facebook to provide more functionality to business users.
The directions caused a major setback against the app, and many users misinterpreted the change, meaning that all of their WhatsApp information, including the content of their private message threads, went directly to Zuck and Co.
Which is not now, and has never been the case – but the specific detail got lost in the shuffle as millions downloaded alternative messaging programs like Signal and Telegram in an effort to avoid the change. This pushed both apps to the top of the download maps, forcing Facebook to launch an overall PR flash around the update, which full-page newspaper ads explain the update in the major dailies in India.
Eventually, however, Facebook announced that it will slow down the change and reconsider its process, in an effort to satisfy the increasingly dissatisfied user base.
At the time, Facebook said it would be fine. “much more to clear up the “wrong information” about how privacy and security work in the app, which he hoped to clarify the details of the update and eventually enable it to continue. Facebook needs to update its policy to revenue opportunities via WhatsApp, with the change paving the way for more shopping and e-commerce transactions in the messaging app, while brands also offer more capacity to set up business profiles on the platform.
Over the past few weeks, WhatsApp users have been seeing the gradual directions for privacy updates once again outlining the pending update – and although WhatsApp has softened the language in its new explanations, the basic premise remains the same. Users must agree to share data with Facebook – which is entirely related to business interactions in WhatsApp – otherwise they will not be able to use the messaging app in the end.
As for data sharing, this is not a very controversial or intrusive update. But still, it is enough to increase the hackles of many users.
India’s The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), in response to concerns from Indian citizens, has now demanded that Facebook abandon the planned update or face restrictions in the country.
As reported by The next web:
“MEITY gave WhatsApp seven days to respond to this notice with a May 25 deadline. It added that if the response from the Facebook company is not satisfactory, the government could take legal action against the giant of the social network. “
The request is not a big surprise as the Indian government asked the same question in January, in response to Facebook’s original announcement. But that would be a major concern for The Social Network.
India is WhatsApp’s largest user market, with more than 459 million active local users, and a key motivation for this new change, is to facilitate WhatsApp’s growing business offering in the region. If Facebook can convert WhatsApp into the most important app for a wide range of features among Indian users, including e-commerce and other business transactions, which will place the company for great growth in the fast-growing Indian technology sector, and facilitate direct money making of WhatsApp for the first time.
What Facebook has been striving for since acquiring the platform back in 2014. Direct ads in message threads, such as Facebook, do not work, while other options such as ads in WhatsApp Status, the app’s own Stories-like offering, are also abandoned.
It is therefore necessary that this move be necessary to make money – and while the Indian government is pushing back and calling on Facebook to abandon the change altogether, which will cause major headaches in Facebook’s headquarters, as it is a want to find solution to deal with MEITY’s concerns.
German officials also opposed the update – and even – banned the update completely at some point, due to concerns about what the change might mean for users’ privacy.
As noted, German regulators are now seeking a ban across the EU via the European Data Protection Board, which could mean that change in Europe must fall in any way, leading to the planned evolution of Facebook as a result of the change will further affect.
And that’s all but for the individual users who download alternative messaging apps again, in response to concerns. Once again, Facebook has repeatedly stated that the change is not related to information shared in private message threads, and that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is not compromised.
But if you build an app that focuses on privacy and encourages users to share what they want, without any threat of outside access, as Facebook now teaches, people take the commitment seriously. And that could eventually stop the project completely.
This will be a huge blow to Facebook’s growth plans and the attempt to turn WhatsApp into different regions in the essential app. I mean, it’s already for a lot of users, but in order to make money from Facebook, he needs to integrate these new business tools, and he needs to update his policies to facilitate them in the most direct and responsive way.
There are other ways around this, but they will take a lot more effort and a lot more development at the end of Facebook. And with the company also planning to full integration of its messaging applications, he will have to update his policy even further at some point, so it has to somehow clear up a way forward.
But the outlook remains cloudy for the update, and Facebook will have negotiations underway to get it through.
This is definitely not a complete deal yet, and it will be interesting to see what Facebook looks like after the next phase of the plan.
