Turkey to probe Facebook's move to collect WhatsApp data
January 11, 2021
- Erdogan's media cell quits WhatsApp
- New privacy policy to be suspended till probe is complete
ISTANBUL: Turkey's Competition Board has launched an investigation into WhatsApp and its owner Facebook Inc after the messaging app asked users to agree to let its parent company collect data including phone numbers and locations.
A written statement issued by the board said it has ruled the data-collection requirement should be suspended until the probe is complete.
“The Competition Board has opened an investigation into Facebook and WhatsApp and suspended the requirement to share Whatsapp data,” it said.
WhatsApp updated its terms of service last Wednesday, allowing Facebook and its subsidiaries to collect user data. The deadline for agreeing to the new terms is February 8.
Rival messaging apps Signal and Telegram have since seen a sudden increase in demand.
Erdogan quits WhatsApp
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s media office has said that it is quitting WhatsApp after the new privacy policy change.
The presidency officials said that media office will update journalists via BiP, a unit of Turkish communication company Turkcell, from Monday.
BiP has gained more than 1.12 million users in just 24 hours, boasting more than 53 million users worldwide.
