Two consumer groups today filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission that asks the agency to investigate Facebook's pending acquisition of WhatsApp.
According to the Electronic Privacy and Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), Facebook is likely to use WhatsApp user data to its advantage, which is not what WhatsApp users expected when they signed up for the messaging app.
"Acting in reliance on WhatsApp representations, Internet users provided detailed personal information to the company, including private text to close friends," the complaint said. "Facebook routinely makes use of user information for advertising purposes and has made clear that it intends to incorporate the data of WhatsApp users into the use profiling business model."
EPIC and CDD said the move violates WhatsApp users' understanding of their exposure to online advertising and constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice, which the FTC should investigate.
Facebook disagreed. "Facebook's goal is to bring more connectivity and utility to the world by delivering core Internet services efficiently and affordably – this partnership will help make that happen," a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement. "As we have said repeatedly, WhatsApp will operate as a separate company and will honor its commitments to privacy and security."
Facebook announced plans to acquire WhatsApp for a stunning $16 billion last month, a deal that could be worth as much as $19 billion if certain targets are met.
Facebook has said that WhatsApp will remain an independent company, like Instagram, which the social network also owns. But according to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, WhatsApp is on its way to 1 billion users, and any Internet service that tops that milestone is extremely valuable, according to Zuckerberg. Going forward, WhatsApp will help Facebook toward its goal of connecting the world, he said.
For more, check out What Is WhatsApp? An Explainer.