Blog #Meta

A lengthy battle between WhatsApp and NSO Group Spyware maker was concluded when the jury ordered the infamous spyware maker to pay more than $167 million in damages to the Meta-owned company which brought about the conclusion of a legal battle spanning more than five years, which started in October 2019 when WhatsApp accused NSO Group of hacking more than 1,400 of its users by taking advantage of a vulnerability in the chat app’s audio-calling functionality. While the battle was between WhatsApp and the NSO group, a lot of things came to light that concerns users of the messaging app from Meta. Users need to pay attention so they know what data is collected and processed and how secure and private their chats can be. So we are going to digest 8 things we learned from this case that users should know.

Unless you have been living under a rock or you have been in a comma for the past few years, you know Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the role it’s playing in our everyday lives by revolutionizing every industry from finance, education, healthcare and more. The big and small players have all invested in AI because well it’s here to stay and will soon be used in almost every aspect of our lives. Meta, Google and others have a dilemma. They need to stitch AI through their platforms, but users are understandably worried this is a privacy issue given some of these platforms main selling point is the secrecy in their end to end encryption features which guarantee absolute privacy and security. Google has been leading the charge, but has been careful to emphasize opt outs at all times. Meta has taken a different approach with WhatsApp. AI is there. You can’t remove it. But if you don’t like it, then just don’t use it. Cue the backlash. So what should users do?