Ahead of a data law change, the messaging service WhatsApp is increasing the minimum age for users in many European countries to 16. The messaging service is under pressure for its plan to share more data with Facebook.
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The popular messaging service WhatsApp, which had more than 1.5 billion users in January, announced in a blog post on Tuesday that it was increasing the minimum age to comply with new data privacy rules in the European Union that come into force in May.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook Inc, will ask users in several European countries to confirm that they are at least 16 years old to be able to use the service.
It is not immediately clear how WhatsApp will vet the age limit as the service does not require much data from users.
By raising the minimum age limit from 13 to 16, the instant messaging service is not asking for new rights to collect personal information under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to the blog post.
"Our goal is simply to explain how we use and protect the limited information we have about you," it said.
In line with Facebook, WhatsApp's minimum age of use will remain 13 across the rest of the world. Facebook says it is using a different approach for data policy involving teens between 13 and 15.
Facing a grilling: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress. DW's Michael Knigge has the story
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Data scandal and privacy issues
WhatsApp, founded in 2009, has come under pressure in Europe for its end-to-end encrypted messaging system and its plan to share more data with Facebook.
Facebook also found itself in hot water after it was revealed last month that the personal data of its 87 million users wound up in the hands of consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked for US President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg faced a 10-hour grilling in front of US Congress following the data scandal. The company announced last week that it would begin rolling out new privacy policies worldwide, starting with changes in Europe.
GDPR, a historic law that gives Europeans the right to know about their stored data and the right to delete it, already blocked a move by WhatsApp to share users' phone numbers and other details with Facebook to improve the product and target advertisements.
But WhatsApp said it still wanted to exchange data with its parent company in order to "work closer with other Facebook companies in the future."
Other changes announced by WhatsApp on Tuesday include a downloadable report detailing the user data. The blog post also suggests safety tips to WhatsApp users.
A number of companies have said they are either abandoning Facebook or pressing pause of their use of the social network. But the company said it hasn't seen a meaningful number of people ready to #deletefacebook.
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Playboy
Playboy Enterprises said it is closing its Facebook pages as the scandal surrounding the social network grows. Playboy said the privacy scandal was the final straw after long having had difficulty posting to the site due to Facebook's strict rules to keep nudity off the platform. Some 25 million people interacted with Playboy's Facebook pages.
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SpaceX and Tesla
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind electric car manufacturer Tesla and rocket producer SpaceX, wrote on Twitter he would delete both companies' Facebook accounts. The decision appeared to be spontaneous after Musk wrote he "didn't realize" a Facebook account for SpaceX even existed. The accounts of both companies each had around 2.6 million followers before they were deleted.
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Mozilla
The company behind popular web browser Firefox said in a statement that it was "pressing pause" on its Facebook advertising. But it said it would not delete its Facebook account. Instead, the company would stop posting regular updates on the account. "When Facebook takes stronger action in how it shares customer data ... we'll consider returning," it said.
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Commerzbank
Commerzbank, one of Germany's largest banks, said it was pausing its Facebook advertising. The head of the company's brand management told German business newspaper "Handelsblatt:" "We're taking a break with our advertising on Facebook. Data protection and maintaining a good brand are important to us." He added that the company would wait and see before it made any further decisions.
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WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton
The co-founder of messaging service WhatsApp, Brian Acton, wrote in a March 20 post on Twitter: "It is time. #deletefacebook." Acton became a billionaire after selling WhatsApp to Facebook in 2014. He recently invested in a rival messaging app, Signal, after leaving WhatsApp in 2017. Acton had a history with Facebook before 2014. He unsuccessfully interviewed for a job at the company in 2009.
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Sonos
The US-based speaker manufacturer said it was pulling its advertising from Facebook and other social media platforms, including Facebook-owned Instagram. Sonos said recent revelations "raised questions" about whether Facebook had done enough to safeguard user privacy. But it said it would not completely "abandon" Facebook because it was an "incredibly effective" service.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Sonos
Dr. Oetker's out then back in
The German food corporation let its Twitter followers vote on whether it should delete its Facebook account. "We'll delete our Facebook page for 1,000 retweets," it wrote in a March 21 post. It was quickly retweeted over 1,000 times, leading the company to deactivate its Facebook page. But it reactivated the account a day later, writing on Twitter that it "couldn't be" without Facebook.
Image: Dr. Oetker
Facebook responds
Asked about the decision of some companies to leave the social network, Facebook said: "Most of the businesses we've spoken with this week are pleased with the steps we've outlined to better protect people's data, and they have confidence that we'll respond to these challenges and become a better partner and company as a result."
