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back to article India court could stop Facebook’s WhatsApp mega-slurp

Facebook is facing legal action in India over its attempt to slurp up user data from WhatsApp users. Two Indian students have gone to court in Delhi to demand Facebook reverses changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy. The public-litigation case will be heard later this week, just before the new policy comes into effect. The new …

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  1. bazza Silver badge

    Hmmm

    So what we want is some sorta entrepreneur who is willing to splash a load of cash to set up a service a bit like WhatsApp used to be, run it, maybe charge a nominal fee, and then resist all temptation to sell out to some bunch like Facebook for $billions.

    Anyone know anyone like that? Sort of a tricky thing to find, an utterly incorruptible well monied entrepreneur.

    0 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hmmm

      Or you could use signal, which is basically WhatsApp without the nastiness.

      2 0 Reply
      1. PerlyKing
        Reply Icon
        Big Brother

        Re: Hmmm

        So - what's the business plan behind Signal? Servers don't run on vulture capital forever.

        0 0 Reply
  2. I Like Heckling Silver badge

    When FB bought WhatsApp

    The following day after the announcement was made that FB had acquired WhatsApp..... I removed the app from my phone and have never used it again.

    0 0 Reply
  3. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken
    Thumb Up

    Go India!

    (The post is required, and must contain letters.)

    0 0 Reply
  4. Oengus

    Meanwhile

    Users are being encouraged to go into Account settings and untick the "Share my account info" button.

    While you are going into WhatsApp to change the settings you have to click to accept the new terms and conditions to get into the app and by the time you get to the settings to untick the share option all of your existing information has been shared with no option to "unshare" already shared information...

    2 0 Reply
  5. GrumpyKiwi

    Two students - yeah right

    I'd be more impressed if I didn't think that sitting behind them was some kind of Indian WhatsApp equivalent wanting the entire Indian market to themselves.

    0 0 Reply
  6. MrDamage Silver badge

    so let me get this straight

    These guys are arguing (I assume), that because the hordes of Indians who have installed tha app do not have sufficien grasp of English to read, and understand, the changed T&C's, then it cannot apply to them?

    As much as I detest Douchebook and it's equally douchey owner, this sound like bullshit.

    They were presented with T&C's when they first downloaded and installed the app, and were fine with not being able to read them. Now that they have changed to say "X will now happen unless you do Y", they're suddenly invalid?

    Perhaps instead of launching the suit, these 2 student could have offered to translate the T&C's, a well as whipping up a handy guide on how people can opt out of the slurping.

    0 0 Reply
    1. Robert Carnegie Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      I don't think that's the point

      Although I am not sure why.

      If the users are using a written language other than English, then the company ought to provide terms in the user's language. On the other hand, if the users accepted the original terms in English without understanding them, the company is entitled to apply the terms.

      If hypothetically I could and did translate the terms as a third party, I'd have to add my own disclaimer that "I think this is what it means, but I'm not a lawyer and I'm not from India, so I'm not guaranteeing it." That would be helpful, wouldn't it.

      0 0 Reply
  7. PerlyKing
    Meh

    Where's it gone?

    I found and unticked the box on my phone, but a few days later I wanted to do the same on my daughter's phone and I can't find the box. I can't find it on my phone either now, does anyone know what's going on?

    0 0 Reply

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