FTC Officially Approves Facebook’s Acquisition Of WhatsApp, With Stern Warning
As previously speculated, the Federal Trade Commission approved Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of cross-platform messaging service WhatsApp, stressing that WhatsApp must honor its commitment to maintain its pre-Facebook privacy practices.
As previously speculated, the Federal Trade Commission approved Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of cross-platform messaging service WhatsApp, stressing that WhatsApp must honor its commitment to maintain its pre-Facebook privacy practices.
FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich said in a letter to the two companies:
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 Act and, potentially, the FTC’s order against Facebook.
The order against Facebook refers to a settlement the social network reached with the commission in November 2011, in which Facebook agreed to several conditions in response to FTC allegations that it failed to keep its users’ information private.
Rich’s
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