The European Commission has accused Facebook of being ‘misleading’ in the run-up to its takeover of messaging service Whatsapp, by saying it was impossible to link users through the two apps.
Facebook took over Whatsapp in 2014 after the European Commission giving it the go-ahead, but made a privacy change in August of this year which said it would link users Whatsapp and Facebook accounts for ease of use and more relevant friend suggestions. .
Facebook said that at the time of the takeover it was impossible to link the two, which has been disputed by the European Commission. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy, said:
“Companies are obliged to give the Commission accurate information during merger investigations.
“In this specific case, the Commission’s preliminary view is that Facebook gave us incorrect or misleading information during the investigation into its acquisition of WhatsApp.”
If Facebook is found guilty it could be fined up to 1 percent of its annual takeover, which in Facebook’s case could amount to millions of euros. Facebook is being asked to respond by 31 January 2017.
A spokesperson for Facebook said:
“We’ve consistently provided accurate information about our technical capabilities and plans, including in submissions about the WhatsApp acquisition and in voluntary briefings before WhatsApp’s privacy policy update this year.
“We’re pleased that the Commission stands by its clearance decision, and we will continue to cooperate and share information officials need to resolve their questions,” he added.
Facebook added that it still did not have the technology for full “cross-platform messaging”, which the Commission was most concerned about back in 2014.
Since the change in policy in August linking users Facebook and Whatsapp accounts, several investigations have been launched.
The UK’s Information Commissioner (ICO) begun an inquiry the day after the announcement to see if the alteration broke the UK’s data protection laws. In September, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information moved to protect the data of German citizens from Facebook.