PowerKee’s Bastion of Privacy #24 — How WhatsApp users alleviated a new privacy policy
After pushback from users, Whatsapp postponed the implementation of a new privacy policy from February 8th to May 15th. The date has now passed and Whatsapp introduced their new policy with a tweet stating that they won’t read your personal messages and they won’t delete your account.
https://twitter.com/WhatsApp/status/1393310417984933890
However, they will be able to share data with other Facebook controlled companies which caused the initial backlash. In response to the backlash, the initial threat of deleting non-compliant accounts has been withdrawn.
The pushback from users has certainly been fruitful. It initially postponed the introduction of the new policy and afterwards alleviated the consequences for non-compliance.
In the latest Bastion of Privacy, we recap how the proposed new WhatsApp policy was resisted by the public. However, such cases are rare in the corporate world as large tech companies typically wield the ultimate power to censor and suspend users. Decentralized blockchain networks are one of the few tech alternatives that allow netizens to operate outside the bounds of corporate control.
To update our community about the development, we’re happy to announce that we integrated an additional QT developer in our team who works full time on the implementation of the final design into our wallet. We’re on the last stage before we’re able to distribute our native KEE token to all private sale participants and list KEE on exchanges.
Users protest against new WhatsApp rules
WhatsApps intention to upgrade their privacy policy was contentiously received by its user base. It may even have catalyzed the largest backlash against a tech company for a policy change proposal. The concerns raised revolved around the unrestricted sharing of user data across third-party platforms. Moreover, such sharing practices were opaquely defined, increasing the risk for users.
A series of protests followed WhatsApp’s initial announcement, with a segment of internet users staging a boycott from the platform. As the initial policy implementation date of February 8th drew closer, more users expressed their displeasure with the new policy. Massive migration towards other rival platforms like Telegram and Signal was also started. Such backlash caused the implementation date to be postponed to the 15th of May. This did not stop the backlash, which exacerbated to the national level in some cases.
The new policy was massively rejected in India, which is the biggest market for the messaging app with over 400 million users. A petition was lodged at a Delhi high court, challenging the imposition of the new policy on users. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, an Indian homegrown fintech company commented on the issue. He reminded Indians that they are the market and the target, explaining how much influence they as users can have over the service providers.
(Source: Backlinko.com)
Ahead of the May 15th deadline, WhatsApp backtracked on its intended restriction of non-compliant users. The company explained that it has been making efforts to clear up the “confusion and misinformation” that has been created around the new policy.
For now, compliance to the new policy is not compulsory as users who wish to comply do that voluntarily. However, we may not have heard the last of this, as the Indian IT ministry has already warned the company to withdraw this new policy or face action.
Blockchain as an alternative option
This is a rare instance where users caused a tech company to change its intentions. It would be optimistic to anticipate such occurrences becoming more commonplace. This increases the need for users to seek methods to protect their own data. User data protection is most secure when individual users have to protect themselves.
Moreover, cyber attacks and network breaches are becoming a more regular occurrence in recent years, especially in the last few years. Even WhatsApp’s parent platform Facebook was recently breached. Given such cyber attacks and the move towards more lax privacy policies, alternative technologies need to be considered.
With the advent of blockchain technology, netizens are considering privacy network solutions like the PowerKee protocol. PowerKee gives users the option of transferring value anonymously across a decentralized network.
About PowerKee
PowerKee is a cryptocurrency network that makes privacy easy. Users can transact cheaply and instantly while maintaining anonymity. The PowerKee protocol uses a mixture of zero-knowledge proofs and coin mixing to provide strong privacy assurances to its users.
