ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Competition Board launched an antitrust investigation into Facebook and its popular messaging service WhatsApp Monday after the application updated its privacy policies and raised concerns among local users, many of whom sought alternative messaging services over the weekend.
In a statement, the Competition Board ruled that WhatsApp’s new usage requirements, which will allow the app to share more data with Facebook starting Feb. 8, should be suspended until the investigation is completed. The board stated it would assess whether the policy change violated Turkish competition laws designed to prevent companies from abusing positions of market dominance.