Privacy groups call for FTC probe of WhatsApp promises
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should stop mobile messaging service WhatsApp from sharing user data with parent company Facebook in violation of earlier privacy promises, several privacy groups said.
The FTC should step in to stop WhatsApp from violating "commitments the company previously made to subscribers," the 17 groups said in a letter sent to the agency Thursday. WhatsApp has long billed itself as a secure and private messaging service.
WhatsApp's recently released plan to share user data with Facebook as a way to target advertising could amount to an "unfair and deceptive" trade practice, said the groups, including the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog, and Demand Progress.
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