Facebook warned over privacy risks of merging messaging platforms

In a statement posted to its website late last week the Irish Data Protection Commission writes: “Previous proposals to share data between Facebook companies have given rise to significant data protection concerns and the Irish DPC will be seeking early assurances that all such concerns will be fully taken into account by Facebook in further developing this proposal.”

Last week the New York Times broke the news that Facebook intends to unify the backendinfrastructure of its three separate products, couching it as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg asserting control over acquisitions whose founders have since left the building.

Instagram founders,Kevin Systromand Mike Krieger, left Facebook last year, as a result of rising tensions over reduced independence, according to our sources.

The pair reportedly clashed with Facebook execs over user privacy and differences over how to monetize the end-to-end encrypted platform.

Early last year, following an investigation into the data-sharing u-turn, the UK’s data watchdog obtained an undertaking from WhatsAppthat it would not share personal data with Facebook until the two services could do so in a way that’s compliant with the region’s strict privacy framework, the General Data Protection Regulation .

But the company clearly remains on watch — and any fresh moves to further integrate the platforms would trigger instant scrutiny, evidenced bythe shot across the bows from the DPC in Ireland .

Which, in the case of a revenue-rich data-mining giant like Facebook, could be a far more potent disincentive than even a billion dollar fine.

It may also be a hedge against any one of the three messaging platforms decreasing in popularity by furnishing the business with internal levers it can throw to try to artifically juice activity across a less popular app by encouraging cross-platform usage.