Facebook Inc. risks a multimillion-euro fine for allegedly misleading
European Union merger watchdogs when it won approval to buy the WhatsApp messaging service in 2014.
The EU’s antitrust authority said Tuesday it suspects Facebook supplied "incorrect or misleading information" on linking data with WhatsApp as officials investigated the tie-up two years ago. Approval for the $22 billion deal isn’t under threat, regulators said.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is escalating the probe after officials quizzed Facebook over privacy policy changes announced in August that would allow the advertising platforms on Facebook and Instagram to draw upon data from WhatsApp. The Menlo Park, California-based company informed the EU in 2014 it couldn’t combine WhatsApp data with its other services -- a move it made earlier this year.
“These are serious allegations,” said Agustin Reyna of the European consumer advocate group BEUC. “If Facebook provided misleading information about its ability to match Facebook and WhatsApp accounts it basically blocked the commission from checking the implications of data of this merger. This is unacceptable and sheds a bad light on the company’s readiness to respect consumers’ privacy."
This can lead to a big change in the Facebook stock. Make sure to talk to us in the chat so you can get the trade!
