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France Building Whatsapp-Like Service to Avoid Privacy Breaches

posted by janrinok on Tuesday April 17 2018, @09:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the when-you-can't-trust-your-friends dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The French government is looking to move officials away from popular apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram -- even if the French president likes using them.

As Facebook continues to reel from the Cambridge Analytica saga, the French government is taking precautions against the social media behemoth's WhatsApp service.

The French government is developing its own encrypted messaging service, Reuters reported Monday. The goal is to alleviate concerns about privacy breaches, which could result in the leaking of private conversations between top officials to foreign parties.

The French government's privacy concerns come amid a backlash against Facebook following a massive data leak concerning millions of users. WhatsApp, which provides encrypted messaging services, is owned by Facebook and shares user information with its parent company -- something that hasn't sat well with privacy regulators.

In December 2016, the European Union expressed concerns over Facebook's access to WhatsApp users' data. Just a month later, the popular social messaging platform was sued in German court over the issue, while French privacy watchdog CNIL warned WhatsApp in the same year to stop sharing user data with Facebook or risk a fine. Last month, Facebook agreed not to access any data from WhatsApp until its activities are considered compliant with a Europe-wide General Data Protection Regulation expected in May.

[...] While few details are available on the French-built messaging service, a ministry spokeswoman told Reuters the app is being designed by a "state-employed developer" and tested by "about 20 officials and top civil servants." It is hoped that the use of this app will become mandatory across the government by this summer before being rolled out to all French citizens, she added.

CNET has reached out to the French government for a comment.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @06:25AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @06:25AM (#668458)

    You are one fucking idiot. You are one of the reasons we have fucked up Trump in the Whitehouse or BREXIT. And if you believe that Syria is better outcome than voting, then you are even more stupid than a fucking idiot.

    Rising up in revolution, surprisingly, actually does make a substantive difference you can quantify. It's hard for the ruling classes to keep fucking with you, when their busy being beheaded at the guillotines.

    Ok, so you are stupider than a fucking idiot. Go to Syria and enjoy. And then you can enjoy getting the "ruling class" dropping nerve gas on your ass.