Re:Lawsuits Filed by FTC and the State Attorneys General Are...
by beagle3 on Monday December 14, 2020 @04:44PM
(#25423776)
WhatsApp was popular, but iirc didn’t have video calls or group phone calls (and perhaps not even 1-1 calls). It is likely true that FB funded WhatsApp’s continuing relevance.
It is just as likely , though, that WhatsApp would develop these features regardless - at perhaps a slightly slower pace.
WhatsApp’s expenses were compatible with $1/user/year they were charging in some markets (and which they would likely be able to charge in most of all).
If FB didn’t fund it , someone else - perhaps the users - would have. But it was the growth (evidence for which was collected through Onavo) and implied threat that made FB buy them, not anything else.
It is just as likely , though, that WhatsApp would develop these features regardless - at perhaps a slightly slower pace.
WhatsApp’s expenses were compatible with $1/user/year they were charging in some markets (and which they would likely be able to charge in most of all).
If FB didn’t fund it , someone else - perhaps the users - would have. But it was the growth (evidence for which was collected through Onavo) and implied threat that made FB buy them, not anything else.