FTC to Investigate WhatsApp Sharing Information With Facebook, Say EPIC, CDD
The FTC will investigate a complaint by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy against WhatsApp for plans to share some user account information such as phone numbers with parent Facebook, which the privacy groups say…
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contradicts the messaging service's previous promise (see 1608290059 and 1608250027). EPIC released the FTC's Aug. 31 letter in a blog post Wednesday informing both groups that agency staff will "carefully review" their complaint. The FTC has a 20-year consent order, starting in 2012, with Facebook that resolved allegations involving sharing of users' personal data. The agency said in the letter that the investigation is nonpublic until it decides whether to close the probe or issue a formal complaint. "As a result, we can neither confirm nor deny that we are conducting an investigation of the issues raised by your complaint," the FTC letter said.