The gloves are off once more between tech titans Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Following a $37.2 million fine levied against Meta Platforms (META) by Turkey's competition board for data sharing practices, Musk used the opportunity to land another blow on his social media rival.
Musk Echoes Data Privacy Concerns:
- Musk seemingly agreed with a post on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing Meta, stating simply, "Yeah," in response to the comment "Meta can't be trusted."
Turkish Investigations Uncover Data Sharing Issues:
- The hefty fine stemmed from two separate investigations conducted by Turkish authorities.
- The first probe focused on data sharing between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
- The second investigation examined data sharing practices specifically between Instagram and Threads, a Twitter-like platform launched by Meta in 2023.
User Control Over Data - A Potential Outcome:
- As a result of the investigations, users may be granted more control over their personal information.
- The possibility of merging data across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp with explicit user consent is being explored.
- Additionally, a centralized "Accounts Center" feature might be implemented to allow users to manage their data more effectively.
A History of Scrutiny:
- This isn't the first time Musk has taken Meta to task over data privacy. In April, he mocked Meta following a widespread outage that affected Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
- His sarcastic remark suggested a connection between the outage and Meta's alleged focus on "selling their user's data."
- Musk has also accused Meta of falsely claiming credit for sales driven by X. These accusations surfaced after advertisers filed a $7 billion lawsuit against Meta for inflating advertising viewership metrics.
Musk's comments reignite a critical conversation about data privacy and user control in the age of social media giants. The Turkish authority's decision serves as a reminder of the potential consequences companies face when data privacy regulations are not followed.