Amid the data-misuse debacle surrounding Cambridge Analytica, the co-founder of WhatsApp said Tuesday the time had come to delete Facebook, which bought the messaging company four years ago for $19 billion.
Brian Acton tweeted:
Facebook, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is dealing with the fallout from news reports the personal information of 50 million users was exploited by Cambridge Analytica, a data-analytics firm linked to the Trump campaign.
The company's market value has dropped as much as $50 billion since Friday since the reports and since Acton's "#deletefacebook" hastag has surfaced, Business Insider reports.
Acton, 46, left Facebook in September 2017 to start his own nonprofit. He and fellow technology entrepreneur Jan Koum in founded WhatsApp in 2009.
Facebook acquired the company in February 2014 for $19 billion, the biggest deal in Facebook's history.
However, it was not clear whether Acton was advising others to delete Facebook or just stating his intentions, Business Insider reports.
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