WhatsApp is in the crosshairs of criticism … Elion Musk hints at a rival application

The messaging service “WhatsApp” is facing criticism after its request from its two billion users around the world to agree to new terms of use that allow it to share more data with Facebook, which owns the application, according to the “French Press Agency”.
Users who refuse to accept the new terms will be banned from using their accounts from February 8th.
The group seeks to generate cash revenues by allowing advertisers to communicate with their customers through WhatsApp, or even to sell their products directly through the platform, which is what the network began to do in India.
A spokesperson for “WhatsApp” said, in a statement, that “updates on privacy settings are common in the sector, and we provide our users with all the information necessary to verify the changes that will take place as of February 8th.”
The company pointed out that the data that may be shared between “WhatsApp” and the “Facebook” application system (including “Instagram” and “Messenger”) includes contacts and profile information, and it does not include the content of messages that remain encrypted.
However, the new conditions differ between the European Union and the rest of the world.
In the case of the European Union and Britain, this data will only be used to develop features provided for professionals’ accounts through “WhatsApp Business”, according to WhatsApp.
“WhatsApp” does not share the data of its European users with “Facebook” except for the latter to use it to improve its products or ads, according to a spokesperson for the messaging service.
“If the only way to reject this amendment is to stop using WhatsApp, then the element of consent becomes coerced, and the data processing is illegal,” said Artur Meso, a legal expert at an organization that defends the rights of Internet users.
Many users have complained on “Twitter” in the past hours that they have been granted approval of the new terms of use without reading them in detail.
Tesla boss Elion Musk hinted in a tweet on Twitter that the rival Signal app could be used.
In response to a question on the subject, spokesmen for the European Commission stated that Facebook was found guilty in 2017 of paying a fine of 110 million euros for providing false information during an investigation by the European Union regarding the WhatsApp purchase.