CALIFORNIA – WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum has parted ways with Facebook amid the ongoing privacy row.
Jan Koum made the announcement in a Facebook post earlier on Monday.
https://www.facebook.com/jan.koum/posts/10156227307390011
Facebook bought the social messaging application for $19bn (£13.8bn) in 2014. WhatsApp runs no adverts, while Facebook’s enormous profits are powered almost entirely by advertising targeted to its users’ interests.
As for the reason behind the decision, reports suggest there “was a massive culture clash.” Basically, Koum was in complete disagreement with Facebook’s “attempts to use its personal data and weaken its encryption.”
The 42-year old’s departure comes two months after WhatsApp’s other co-founder, Brian Acton, urged his followers to delete Facebook.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/technology/deletefacebook-whatsapp-co-founder-brian-acton-turns-against-social-media-giant/
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook, commented on the Whatsapp co-founder’s post, saying he is thankful to Koum for teaching him about encryption.
However, Washington Post reports that Koum is leaving the California-based company following clashes over WhatsApp users’ personal details being used for advertising and proposed changes that would weaken the application’s strong end-to-end encryption.
