Press Release: 2021-05-12

Trahan Leads Group of Lawmakers in Calling on Facebook to Reverse Harmful WhatsApp Terms of Service Update








Trahan Leads Group of Lawmakers in Calling on Facebook to Reverse Harmful WhatsApp Terms of Service Update:



“We believe consumers deserve the option to use WhatsApp knowing that their privacy will be protected the way the founders intended, and the way Facebook promised to uphold.”



Washington, May 11, 2021



WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, led a group of fellow Congressional Hispanic Caucus members in writing a letter calling on Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reverse the company’s decision to require WhatsApp users to accept expanded data collection or leave the platform entirely.



“We write to respectfully ask Facebook to consider reversing WhatsApp’s decision to update their new terms of service. We believe Facebook is potentially offering a false choice to users across the globe: accept the sharing of metadata with Facebook by May 15th or leave the platform altogether,” the lawmakers wrote.



In their letter, the members highlight the pledge made by Zuckerberg during its $19 billion acquisition of the messaging app in 2014 that, “[w]e are absolutely not going to change plans around WhatsApp and the way it uses user data. WhatsApp is going to operate completely autonomously” – a promise later cited as a condition of the deal’s approval by the Federal Trade Commission. They go on to highlight how a 2016 update broke that promise and how this newest update is yet another violation.



“In 2016, we believe WhatsApp broke its promise. Presenting a routine ‘update’ on WhatsApp’s terms and conditions, Facebook was given access to a range of user data with only 30 days’ notice to opt out. This policy update allowed Facebook to collect metadata from WhatsApp users, stating it may use the information to make ‘product suggestions’ and show ‘relevant offers and ads,’ an action we view as potentially harmful to an individual’s data rights,” the lawmakers continued. “With this latest update, WhatsApp is introducing new features for messaging between businesses and their customers on WhatsApp. WhatsApp has stated that though personal chats will remain private, the same cannot be said of chats conducted between businesses and individuals. Users would “opt in” to a chat-like interaction with businesses. A driver behind these interactions would be the data that Facebook has collected on users through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.”



As members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the lawmakers represent substantial Spanish-speaking and immigrant communities, which also make up the strongest American-based user base on WhatsApp at approximately 32 million people. They raised concerns specifically about the impact of this update and the lack of viable competitors should a user want to switch platforms to avoid having their data collected.



“We believe it may be challenging for U.S.-based Hispanics to switch to other social networks because WhatsApp is the primary way for them to connect with relatives and friends in Latin America where the market has tipped—WhatsApp usage is over 85 percent in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico.  Latin Americans pay some of the highest mobile prices in the world making traditional text messaging unaffordable compared to WhatsApp which is mostly zero-rated,” the lawmakers wrote. “As Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, we are concerned that WhatsApp’s policy change may leave our immigrant communities vulnerable to further ad targeting. We believe consumers deserve the option to use WhatsApp knowing that their privacy will be protected the way the founders intended, and the way Facebook promised to uphold.”



A digital copy can be accessed by clicking HERE.