WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton’s tweet “It is time”.
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This is not the first time Acton has raised his voice against Facebook.
Facebook’s latest privacy scandal, involving Trump campaign consultants who allegedly stole data on tens of millions of users in order to influence elections, has some people reconsidering their relationship status with the social network.
Facebook’s stock has slid 10% since the news surfaced and the deletefacebook hashtag has been trending among some users, upset about the privacy violation.
FB founder Mark had acquired WhatsApp in the year 2014 from WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum – a former Yahoo employee and Brain Acton. Acton quit Whatsapp in 2017 and started his own non-profit organization, Signal. But given reports of Facebook’s questionable handling of user data, Acton might have felt his principles were at odds with Facebook’s culture.
According to Forbes, Acton, 46, made $3 billion from his stake in the company and now has a net worth of $5.5bn. Facebook, which admitted to being aware of the widespread data mining issue in 2015, banned the analytics firm from its website one day prior.
Since reports of Cambridge Analytica using Facebook’s user information came to light, people have been urging on social media to either #DeleteFacebook or #BoycottFacebook in response.
Facebook announced two days ago it has hired a digital forensics firm to investigate the data leak, reported AFP. But last month, Acton invested US$50 million into Signal, an independent alternative to WhatsApp.
It is worth noting here that Acton isn’t the only former Facebook executive who conveyed negativity for the company after his departure.
In a Guardian article an ex-Facebook insider has said covert data harvesting was routine for Facebook.
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Facebook has been embroiled in a number of alleged data collection and distribution controversies in the last few years, and its news feed is said to have contributed significantly to the recent spread of fake news. An emergency all-hands meeting reportedly held today at Facebook was presided over not by Zuckerberg or COO Sheryl Sandberg, but by deputy general counsel Paul Grewel.
