The communication software WhatsApp recently announced to update the privacy policy of users, saying that WhatsApp is a member of “Facebook”, requiring users to share data with Facebook, causing a large number of users dissatisfaction, stimulating a wave of “social media immigration”. It is worth mentioning that one of the founders of Signal, Brian Acton, is also one of the founders of WhatsApp.
If Acton had chosen to leave Facebook a year later, he would have received an additional $850 million in Facebook equity. However, it is also possible that Eckerton does not care about the “only” $850 million, because the sale of WhatsApp transaction has made him $3 billion. But as the saying goes, “different paths don’t make alike,” not to mention the fact that he’s already “on the hook” for the rest of his life.
In a September 2018 Forbes report, Acton expressed his guilt over Whatsapp users. In this interview, Acton said, “I sold my users’ privacy in the face of huge profits. I made choices and compromises. I face this thing every day.” (Note 1)
Also in 2018, Acton put $50 million, real money out of his own pocket, to start Signal Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is also the founding organization of Signal App. Signal Foundation’s long-term operations will be funded by voluntary donations.
Incidentally, Eckerton emphasized in the interview that the Facebook team is “not that bad”, “they’re just very smart business people”! (Note 2)
Note 1: “I sold my users’ privacy to a larger benefit. And I live with that every day.”
Note 2: Facebook “isn’t the bad guy.” (“I think of them as just very good business people .”)
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