WhatsApp dropped by Erdogan after Facebook privacy changes

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s media office and the country’s defense ministry said they’re quitting WhatsApp Inc., joining a global flight from the popular messaging app over new usage terms that have sparked privacy concerns.

The presidency will move its WhatsApp groups to encrypted messaging app BiP, a unit of Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, on Jan. 11, it said in messages to the groups. The Defense Ministry followed suit on Sunday. The switch coincides with Erdogan’s broader campaign against social-media platforms that activists say is meant to stifle dissent.

Changes to WhatsApp’s terms and services effective Feb. 8 will allow it to share data with parent company Facebook Inc. Users must agree to the new terms, which would allow for more targeted advertisements, or lose access to their accounts at WhatsApp, Bloomberg reported.