Commenting on the backlash against Facebook after Cambridge Analytica data scandal, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton has urged people to delete Facebook. Acton’s reaction was in support of a Twitter campaign started by few media outlets.
“It is time,” Acton tweeted, followed by hashtag #deletefacebook. His three-word statement is evidence of how he feels about the issue.
The social media giant has come under fire after the data leak controversy. It is being said that political data analytics company Cambridge Analytica accessed personal data of over 50 million Facebook users without their permission.
As per reports, Cambridge Analytica sourced the data from the creator of a quiz attempted by 270,000 users. It is suspected that Facebook knew about the leak since 2015, but it became public only after the New York Times and Observer reported about it.
Acton’s relation with Facebook
The first time Acton had an encounter with Facebook was back in 2009, when the company turned down Acton for a job. Like any gloomy interviewee, he wrote a Tweet saying, “Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life's next adventure.”
Fast forward to 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion, and WhatsApp co-founder joined Facebook’s board with CEO Jan Koum. Acton headed engineering internally for WhatsApp, who also played a big role to push encryption into the messaging app.
Last year in September, Acton announced his departure from Facebook to focus on with his new endeavour to “start a non-profit focused at the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications”.