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Facebook Reportedly Gets EU Approval On WhatsApp Deal

Facebook announced its intent to purchase WhatsApp for $19 billion in February. The deal is still pending the necessary regulatory approvals, but according to a report from Reuters, it’s getting...
Facebook Reportedly Gets EU Approval On WhatsApp Deal
Written by Chris Crum
  • Facebook announced its intent to purchase WhatsApp for $19 billion in February. The deal is still pending the necessary regulatory approvals, but according to a report from Reuters, it’s getting approval from the EU.

    The report cites two people familiar with the matter, and says the EU is giving the deal unconditional approval, and that they don’t see it as having any anti-competitive effect on the industry.

    If anyone were to find an anti-competitive effect it would probably be Europe (which has been probing Google about competition for like four years).

    In April, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the deal, but gave Facebook the stipulation that it mustn’t mess with user privacy when it does go through.

    A few months ago, a report on global trends in social platform usage found WhatsApp to be the third fastest growing social app behind Snapchat and Kik Messenger. It was ahead of Twitter’s Vine and Facebook’s own Instagram.

    The EU’s competition authority reportedly set an October 3 deadline for a decision on the deal.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

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