Almost everyone has at least one Messenger installed on the smartphone, the number is constantly increasing. Time and again, new communication services are springing up out of the ground and attracting visitors with new functions and more data protection. The Eu Parliament felt this competition, which weighs on the shoulders of the users, as unfair. So that people no longer have to rely on WhatsappTo use Facebook, Signal and others in parallel, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) was passed.
It’s about more than messengers like WhatsApp
However, the decision of the EU Parliament does not only mean messengers, but online platforms of all kinds. Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, Airbnb and Co. dominate the market, which gives them power. From now on, they should be linkable with each other so that one app supports the format of the other.
The compromise of the Internal Market Committee (IMCO) provides that a chat between a person with WhatsApp and a person with Signal will be possible. In addition, when it comes to social media, the individual platforms should accept the format of the others, so that an Instagram post can also be embedded on Twitter. Likes and comments should also be designed across platforms, reports heise online.
Comprehensive data protection: can it work?
Evelyne Gebhardt, negotiator for the Social Democrats on the Digital Markets Act, is confident. Experts had assured her that it was technically possible to protect data protection and encryption. In addition, the entire system should not be linked to one another, but “basic communication” should be ensured.
The IT association Bitkom, however, expresses concerns. You describe the project as “not thought through to the end”, since a large number of functions have to be standardized. In addition to the “immense technical hurdles”, according to Bitkom, data protection is also questionable.
If you want to protect your data more and block or hide your status on WhatsApp, it’s very simple. And Facebook Messenger can also be easily deactivated.
Source: heise online