Facebook Must Honor WhatsApp Privacy Promises to Consumers, According to FTC

In its acquisition of WhatsApp, a mobile messaging application, Facebook has been notified by the Federal Trade Commission that it must continue to honor WhatsApp’s current privacy promises to consumers. The two companies’ privacy policies currently offer differing promises with respect to how consumer information is collected and shared.

Specifically, WhatsApp’s privacy practices are more limited than those of Facebook and, from the FTC’s perspective, exceed the protections provided by Facebook to Facebook users. Both WhatsApp and Facebook have publicly stated their intent to honor WhatsApp current privacy practices after this acquisition. The FTC has warned that any use of consumer information in violation of the current WhatsApp privacy promises may constitute a deceptive or unfair practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act. 

In its notice, the FTC reminds Facebook that it is currently under a consent agreement and failure to follow the WhatsApp privacy policy could be viewed as a violation of that agreement. (The agreement was based on a previous FTC action that requires Facebook to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before sharing their nonpublic information in a manner that materially exceeds any privacy setting.) According to the FTC, before Facebook can materially change the way it uses WhatsApp users’ information, it must get users’ affirmative consent to such changes. If Facebook plans to change how it collects, uses, or shares newly acquired WhatsApp information, it should give consumers the opportunity to either opt-out of such changes or stop using WhatsApp.

TIP: This notification is a reminder for companies to think about privacy during acquisitions. Look at the privacy promises made by a target, as they will be viewed by many – including the FTC – to be your obligations post-acquisition.