The Turkish Presidency will switch to the local app BiP to inform journalists about WhatsApp’s controversial new terms of use.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s media office says it is discontinuing WhatsApp after the messaging app relocation to require many of its users to agree to a controversial new privacy policy.
In statements made via WhatsApp on Sunday, presidency officials said the media agency will keep journalists informed from Monday through BiP, a unit of Turkish communications company Turkcell.
Following WhatsApp’s forced update to its privacy policy this week, users in Turkey have objected to it on Twitter with the hashtag #DeletingWhatsapp.
According to Turkish state media quoting Turkcell, BiP has gained more than 1.12 million users in just 24 hours, with more than 53 million users worldwide.
Changes to WhatsApp’s terms and services will take effect from February 8th and allow it to share data with parent company Facebook and its other subsidiaries.
Users must agree to the new terms in order to continue using the application after the deadline.
Ali Taha Koc, head of Turkey’s Presidential Digital Transformation Office, on Saturday criticized WhatsApp’s new terms of service and its exemption from the new data-sharing rules for users in the UK and the European Union.
He called on the Turks to use “national and local” apps such as BiP and Dedi.
“The distinction between EU Member States and others in terms of data privacy is unacceptable! As noted in the Information and Communications Security Directive, requests of foreign origin pose significant data security risks, ”Koc said in a tweet.
“That’s why we need to protect our digital data with local and national software and develop it according to our needs. Let’s not forget that Turkey’s data would stay in Turkey thanks to local and national solutions. “
New rules
The company said the updated terms will allow additional information exchange between WhatsApp and Facebook and its other applications such as Instagram and Messenger, such as contacts and profile information, but not the content of messages that remain encrypted.
Facebook wants to monetize WhatsApp by enabling companies to contact their customers through the platform and sell them products directly using the service, as they already do in India.
Facebook is under increasing pressure from regulators to integrate its services.
In 2017, the EU fined the US social media giant $ 110 million (then $ 120 million) for providing false and misleading information about WhatsApp’s 2014 acquisition about the ability to link accounts between its services.
Federal and state regulators in the US have accused Facebook of using their acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram to quell competition, and last month filed antitrust lawsuits to force the company to divest.
In November, Turkey fined global social media companies, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, each 10 million liras ($ 1.18 million) for failing to comply with a new social media law.
The new law, which went into effect in October, requires platforms with more than a million daily users in Turkey to appoint a representative in charge of Turkish courts, adhere to orders to remove “objectionable” content within 48 hours and user data. store within Turkey.