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They don't necessarily need to put ads in the app. They can simply transfer that personal information to their larger people profiles making their existing ad n

They don't necessarily need to put ads in the app. They can simply transfer that personal information to their larger people profiles making their existing ad networks more valuable. It could additionally be simply a play to keep someone _else_ from getting said data. (I think your argument still makes sense, just another angle on that part).

jeroenhd 7y ago
The privacy law implications (GDPR, the new California law, etc.) would probably crush Facebook as a company if they started doing that. They already paid over 100 million for just making false promises when they bought WhatsApp, now that the EU has sharpened their blades to take on big data farms like Google and Facebook, doing something like that would be suicide for FB. Any additional data farming would probably attract auditors and lawsuits that Facebook can't get out of so easily anymore. Facebook would need to put a lot of work into following the GDPR (because someone using an Asian VPN is still protected, so IP based geoblocking won't work) to prevent a fine. It would be a very risky move. I don't think Facebook is going to sell private WhatsApp information any time soon.
- cloverich 7y ago
  I'm mostly speculating but, they wouldn't be selling the data, they would be selling access to their ad network that has models built off that data used to match ads to people. If they have a high(er) conversion rate, they can charge quite the premium for this information. Similarly, if they could merely keep people in their platform (WhatsApp), nobody else has that information -- same effect. (Also speculating) if that's more or less how it works, and an ads conglomerate like Google or Facebook is worth hundreds of billions, then even a fine of a billion dollars wouldn't be enough to deter them from this activity. None of this is meant to stir up controversy or be negative or anything, I just think its an interesting mental exercise to consider this scenario and these motivations.

jeroenhd 7y ago

The privacy law implications (GDPR, the new California law, etc.) would probably crush Facebook as a company if they started doing that. They already paid over 100 million for just making false promises when they bought WhatsApp, now that the EU has sharpened their blades to take on big data farms like Google and Facebook, doing something like that would be suicide for FB. Any additional data farming would probably attract auditors and lawsuits that Facebook can't get out of so easily anymore. Facebook would need to put a lot of work into following the GDPR (because someone using an Asian VPN is still protected, so IP based geoblocking won't work) to prevent a fine. It would be a very risky move. I don't think Facebook is going to sell private WhatsApp information any time soon.

cloverich 7y ago
I'm mostly speculating but, they wouldn't be selling the data, they would be selling access to their ad network that has models built off that data used to match ads to people. If they have a high(er) conversion rate, they can charge quite the premium for this information. Similarly, if they could merely keep people in their platform (WhatsApp), nobody else has that information -- same effect. (Also speculating) if that's more or less how it works, and an ads conglomerate like Google or Facebook is worth hundreds of billions, then even a fine of a billion dollars wouldn't be enough to deter them from this activity. None of this is meant to stir up controversy or be negative or anything, I just think its an interesting mental exercise to consider this scenario and these motivations.