The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp, but in their ruling they also told Facebook that in order to share users' information it would require the permission from WhatsApp users, which the new addition to the Menlo Park-company currently does not allow. The ruling threatens Facebook's ability to use the new users as part of their information gathering aimed directly at ads and other products towards its users online.
The $19 billion deal, while being approved in the United States, still has to face international regulators before it is 100 percent finalized.
Ironically, the FTC ruling throws into question Facebook's intentions - the company is known for having massive databases on users in order to develop specific content and advertising related to a person's interests and likes - but could hit a major hurdle based on WhatsApp's own privacy rules in its development.
The FTC ruling basically continues WhatsApp's own company policy on privacy and the sharing of information.
"We want to make clear that, regardless of the acquisition, WhatsApp must continue to honor these promises to consumers. Further, if the acquisition is completed and WhatsApp fails to honor these promises, both companies could be in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and, potentially, the FTC's order against Facebook," FTC stated [PDF] in its letter addressed to Facebook and WhatsApp.
The report suggests that according to the 2012 document, WhatsApp "does not collect names, emails, addresses or other contact information from its users' mobile address book or contact lists other than mobile phone numbers." It also, unlike Facebook and other social networking sites, does not mine personal data including location, content of messages and on top of that, does not keep an archive of all postings made by users.
This is unlike Facebook, which has come under fire for its continued use of personal data that has been given to other corporations and the government without the prior consent of users.
Personal information has become a major controversial issue in the tech and Internet world of late, with many users demanding to know where their personal information is sent. The FTC ruling could be a watershed moment for online privacy, with Facebook facing a hard road forward if it is to maintain its current practices.
The Consumer Protection Bureau Director Jessica Rich told Facebook and WhatsApp that the FTC would ensure that Facebook could not delve into the personal information of WhatsApp users without their prior consent, and that the FTC and the Bureau would make certain that the law would not be broken.
"We want to make clear that, regardless of the acquisition, WhatsApp must continue to honor these promises to consumers," Rich wrote. "Further, if the acquisition is completed and WhatsApp fails to honor these promises, both companies could be in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and, potentially, the FTC's order against Facebook."
