WhatsApp Dropped by Erdogan After Facebook Privacy Changes (1)

Jan. 10, 2021, 12:01 PM UTC

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s media office and the country’s defense ministry told journalists they’re quitting WhatsApp Inc., joining a global flight from the popular messaging app over new usage terms that have sparked privacy concerns.

The presidency will move its WhatsApp groups to encrypted messaging app BiP, a unit of Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, on Jan. 11, it said in messages to the groups. The Defense Ministry followed suit on Sunday. The switch coincides with Erdogan’s broader campaign against social-media platforms that activists say is meant to stifle dissent.

Changes to WhatsApp’s terms and services effective Feb. 8 ...

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