The EU is concerned by the merger plans of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger

Let's go back to Facebook and its project to allow inter-communication between WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, unveiled last week by The New York Times.

The plans of the social network giant have raised considerable concerns among the various government authorities and in Ireland the Irish Data Protection Commission has requested an urgent meeting to be able to assess the situation.

The committee, which regulates Facebook in the European Union, claims to be aware that the plans of the social network giant are still in the initial development phase but wants to have "anticipated" reassurance that there is no risk of violation of the GDPR.

The proposal to merge these services has already aroused criticism from US officials, some of whom claim that it was a mistake to allow Facebook to acquire WhatsApp and Instagram.

“Imagine how different the world would be if Facebook had to compete with Instagram and WhatsApp. That would have encouraged real competition that would have promoted privacy and benefited consumers,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a lawmaker who represents much of Silicon Valley, said last week.

Another aspect to be evaluated is the one related to the end-to-end encryption, currently offered only by WhatsApp. In fact, the possible merging of the three services could lead to the loss of this important functionality.

Bron: source