WhatsApp flap shows importance of message platform to Facebook
The shift was “about moving as many users away from the Facebook
Empire, which for my liking has become way too big and powerful,” said Bernhard
Fleck, one of the players.
The flap over WhatsApp's privacy policy ― described by Facebook as a misunderstanding
about efforts to bring businesses onto the platform ― threatens to erode
trust in the service which is increasingly important to the leading social
network's future.
The California giant last month delayed implementation of a new
policy which critics said could expand data collection from some two billion
WhatsApp users around the world.
Even with the delay in place, the policy caused an uproar and
prompted a surge in interest in rival messaging services such as Signal and
Telegram.
A WhatsApp blog post cited “confusion” over the policy update and maintained
that it “does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.”
The update concerns how merchants using WhatsApp to chat with
customers can share data with Facebook, which could use the information for
targeted ads, according to the social network. The policy will be reviewed and
won't be implemented before May 15, according to the company.
Ryan Calo, a privacy researcher with the University of
Washington’s Tech Policy Lab, said that even though many users misinterpreted
the new policy, the backlash is understandable.
“The original sin was purchasing WhatsApp and folding it into
the business model of Facebook which monetizes all the data they have,” Calo
said.
“The changes aren't as dystopian as some people are thinking.
But it is moving to a model that many people don't trust.”
New
model for Facebook
WhatsApp, acquired in 2014 for some US$19 billion(RM76.7
billion) ― the largest sale of a venture-backed firm at the time ― is seen as a
strategic asset for Facebook as it faces slowing growth for its core social
network and looks to expand its offerings for connecting users and businesses.
The controversy comes as Facebook seeks to integrate its
“family” of applications with a common technology and provide more ways for
people and businesses to connect, while US antitrust enforcers meanwhile press
to “unwind” Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram.
Merrill Lynch analyst Justin Post said in a recent research note
that “we continue to see WhatsApp as an important driver of potential future
Facebook stock value” and predicted that the social media giant would overcome
these issues as it did with the Cambridge Analytica political scandal.
With easy connections for voice and video calls, WhatsApp has a
strong global user base but has not begun any meaningful monetization of the
service, said Jasmine Enberg, senior analyst of global trends at the research
firm eMarketer.
“It was only a matter of time before Facebook worked out a way
to make it into a revenue stream,” Enberg said.
She added that since Facebook has apparently ruled out using
WhatsApp for advertising, it is moving toward making it an e-commerce platform
along the lines of China's WeChat with business tools for customer service and
support.
Already
sharing
Privacy advocates point out that WhatsApp has in fact been
sharing data with Facebook since it implemented a new policy in 2016, except
from users who opted out at that time. Data from European Union users has also
been excluded without affirmative consent under EU privacy laws.
Indicating that WhatsApp users could no longer opt out last month
“was a little insulting to people’s intelligence,” said Gennie Gebhart, a
privacy researcher with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“A lot of people joined WhatsApp to get away from Facebook, but
now they are seeing they are sharing their data with that company,” she said.
But Gebhart said users have limited options now because of the
so-called “network effect” ― with so many people on WhatsApp, it's difficult to
move away from the free service.
According to eMarketer data from last year, WhatsApp had more
than 99 per cent of mobile messaging app users in Brazil, 97 per cent in India
and 52 per cent in the United States.
Enberg said the latest privacy dust-up is unlikely to slow
momentum for WhatsApp and Facebook, especially since there is often a
“disconnect” between what people say and what they do on privacy.
“Sure, many people left and more may leave,” she said,
“But it's unlikely we will see a mass exodus. And WhatsApp's
user base is already so large, it would take precisely that to make a
significant dent.”
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