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International press reports have observed an increase in complaints against instant messaging giant WhatsApp over its privacy policy update.

Reuters indicated that the Facebook-owned platform is facing a barrage of complaints from the European Consumer Organisation and other organizations over a privacy policy update. The series of events have prompted many users to migrate to competitor applications, such as Telegram and Signal.

In January, Facebook announced the introduction of new privacy policies for WhatsApp, which allows it to share some data with Facebook and other firms.

It said that the changes permit users to message businesses and would not affect personal conversations.

The European Consumer Organisation and 8 of its affiliated entities have criticized the new WhatsApp changes.

The organization filed complaints with the European Commission and the network of consumer protection authorities in Europe, saying that WhatsApp coerced consumers to accept its new policies.

The organizations have asked the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network to cooperate in addressing these privacy and consumer rights concerns.