#DeleteFacebook Movement Grows After Massive Data Harvesting Scandal
Social media users are abandoning Facebook in droves using the #DeleteFacebook hashtag after revelations that a data firm harvested personal information from 50 million people. The backlash intensifies as even WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton publicly joins the protest.
A massive wave of users participates in the #DeleteFacebook movement after a whistleblower reveals that a data firm exploits a loophole to harvest information from 50 million people. The controversy centers on a researcher who creates a personality quiz app that officially attracts only 270,000 users but secretly pulls in massive amounts of additional private data.
The public outcry gains significant momentum when Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp, publicly tweets his support for the hashtag. Acton sells his messaging app to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, but he now invests $50 million into Signal, a competing encrypted messaging service that prioritizes user privacy.
Frustrated users flock to Twitter to explain their reasons for leaving the social network, frequently arguing that Facebook treats its users as products rather than customers. People sharing deletion instructions warn others that the process takes 14 days and caution that logging back in during that waiting period automatically cancels the account removal request.