he is Displacement It started when recent changes to its privacy policy made millions of users wondering if they would stay in it or not The WhatsApp; After only three days, 25 million have already opened an account with the historical competitor, Despite the distant competition in numbers, cable.
But that Telegram or Signal is collecting less data has a very simple explanation: Neither has a financial partner or belongs to a Facebook-sized conglomerate that is building its own payment system, the attorney-at-law explains. Cynthia Solis Partner at Lex Inf.
Leaving WhatsApp might relieve the stress of giving Zuckerberg everything, but it would also prevent users from accessing other system benefits. Ultimately, if one wants to get rid of their digital trail, It is not enough to be involved in the displacement.
WhatsApp is in damage control mode
“I think the most annoying thing is that Facebook doesn’t have a very good reputationSolis says.
Facebook does not have the best reputation for controlling and managing personal data protection. Even those less interested in the topic have heard of it Cambridge AnalyticaAnd although Facebook is not fully responsible, The public opinion does not matter.
If added to this the size of the monster and some Lawsuits aimed at dismantling FacebookIt is logical to think that the main issue, the real culprit of the controversy that took place at the beginning of January, is not the terms and conditions (the changes that will take effect on February 8 are minor changes), But a general image issue.
The topic is not new, but for several days it took a new level in public conversation when WhatsApp remained for days Popular topic And even the National Transparency Institute in Mexico Take some time to look at the terms and conditions.
“It is, in fact, a movement that can be seen comingSince WhatsApp and Facebook announced their intentions since last year to further integrate into the platforms and offer related functionality, Solis says Payment platform.
Agneris SampereAnd the Data protection specialist and member of the Digital Rights Defense Network, Synchronized. “Instead of a media campaign to raise awareness, we are now dealing with endless misinformation“.
For Sambéry, this controversy was supposed to take place when the closest collaboration between Facebook and WhatsApp was announced, but the latter’s responsibility did not happen. Instead, it became a missed opportunity for the platform that could have been exploited to communicate effectively the impacts of the new collaboration, and possibly save the migration of users to other platforms.
Now WhatsApp has to ramp up efforts to communicate what the new privacy policy does and what it doesn’t, and even create a file Mini site To explain, among other things, the content of the conversations It will not be shared with Facebook.
Yes, other chat platforms also need personal data to function
Might be migrating to other platforms Almost immediate treatment For the discomfort that many users feel about their personal data and the handling of data provided by large companies, but the truth is that sharing user information with third parties is a very common practice Solis explains that even part of the agreement is that they have apps and services whose services are hosted in the Amazon cloud. Awesome.
But if everyone did What is the problem of WhatsApp besides the reputation of Facebook?
Even for Solis, entrusting the big companies with your personal data rather than the small ones is preferable because the latterPerhaps they do not have the technical, administrative and security measures“, Dice. Sambiri disagrees, however. For better personal data management, it clarifies that it would always be better to choose services that use less personal data for business, and not choose those that request the data in some way.Disproportionately“.
In fact, we have a history of information breaches at tech companies of all sizes and from Adobe And the Hey ho, Until iVoy in Mexico.
Sambiri explains that it doesn’t mean that the company automatically acquires malicious overtones when it chooses a business model that includes monetizing its users’ information, but rather that Facebook (and some other companies) have chosen it on purpose. Lack of clarity about the information they collectWhat will they use, and who will they share, And for how long it will be stored.
“What is sly is lack of clarity“, Confirms.
But even among those who decide to abandon WhatsApp, doing so, with confidence that Facebook will immediately stop obtaining personal data, is naive, especially if you have a Facebook profile, or if your network of contacts persists. Get access to some services, including Instagram.
“Our footprint, our digital footprint, no matter how much we want to take care of it and regardless of our personal data not being monetized, the footprint will still be there. You simply need protocols to surf the Internet, such as IPExplica Sampieri.
There is no ad hoc suit in the privacy policy for users of digital services; Just as there will be users who will have no problem using their data for monetization purposes, there will be those who choose to use services whose business model differs. that’s good.
The important thing, Sambiri stresses, is knowing who and how the data is presented Eliminate the belief that if the service is free, the business is the user. Relaying to Telegram or Signal won’t end the problem, but this debate that has been unleashed in recent weeks with the intensity that has occurred is setting us on the right path.
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