back to article What's up, Zuck? Facebook asks Brussels to probe its GIGANTIC WhatsApp deal

Facebook has asked the competition wing of the European Commission to probe its $19bn buyout of WhatsApp in a move to apparently nullify a host of investigations being sparked in multiple EU nations. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter, Facebook appears to be keen to swerve …

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  1. Semtex451

    Smart

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Not really, all that lobbying's got to pay back sometime...

      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

        Not really, all that lobbying's got to pay back sometime...

        Actually, it is. FB is using the Art 29 working group as a single access point to all regulators, basically doing the exact opposite of Google who ignored them and is now facing problems in 27 countries simultaneously and independently. So that is indeed a very smart move.

        Having said that, I hope FB gets given a firm "non" - through WhatsApp they have acquired the mobile number of practically everyone in the world without permission.

        1. big_D Silver badge

          I agree with Fred. Given the choice of concentrating on one probe or having to spend additional resources in dozens of countries to fight the same battle, I'd much rather face a single battle. It saves the individual countries money, it saves Facebook money and it leaves a bunch of lawyers panhandling in front of their offices for food.

          It's a win-win-win situation.

          The only negative is that it is Facebook we are talking about...

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Agreed. But then again it's what the single market is for.

  2. frank ly

    Instant Messaging

    If 'instant messages' are carried over the telcos' networks, why would the telcos care who sends and receives them?

    1. Caff

      Re: Instant Messaging

      The fees they get for individual SMS messages are vastly bigger than the fees they would get for whatsapp data.

      1. big_D Silver badge

        Re: Instant Messaging

        Yeah, erm, what fees? Most people have a data flatrate or a limit large enough that they can Whatsapp all month long for no additional fee, especially when they can attach to Wifi as well.

        If they do that, then they spend less on SMS and those that pay an addition for an SMS-Flat will probably cancel that in the long term, losing the carriers even more revenue.

        SMS is VERY profitable for the carriers.

    2. EddieD

      Re: Instant Messaging

      69p per year = unlimited text and multi-media messaging (and the picture messaging works unlike O2's miserable service, and also unlike O2's miserable service it delivers the picture to the handset, no messing about cutting and pasting a URL and having to note down a password), so why would anyone want to pay the Telcos for any text or picture messaging?

      And, whilst the sender is known, I'm not sure if the telco would know the recipient - I think it may go to WhatsApp, and then on to the recipient - anyone who knows more about the structutre of the message can say whether the recipient is sent in clear or crypt can add more.

      It also works over wi-fi which removes it yet further from the telco.

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