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Facebook to secure EU approval for WhatsApp bid

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Facebook is set to win unconditional EU approval for its $19 billion offer for mobile messaging service WhatsApp, in a deal that will pit the leading social network against telecom operators. This will be the largest deal in Facebook’s 10 year history, and will give the company a firm foothold in the growing mobile messaging market. US regulators gave the green light for the deal in April of this year, advising WhatsApp to stick with its current privacy practices after the merger, which includes not using users’ personal data for targeted ads.

With the decision unpublished by the European Commission as of yet, the clearance for the bid is stated to be unconditional as the deal will have no anti-competitive effect with the telecoms industry and so concessions are rendered unnecessary. The deadline for the decision has been confirmed as October 3, 2014.

Facebook launches FB Newswire

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Facebook has launched FB Newswire, a Facebook page with the aim to make it easier for journalists and newsrooms to find, share and embed news content from the social networking site into their own work. Powered by Storyful, a company involved in social content discovery and verification for newsrooms, FB Newswire is updated in real time, and shares hand-picked and journalist verified news stories, with content such as photos, status updates and videos from its members.

According to Andy Mitchell, Director of News and Global Media Partnerships at Facebook, “FB Newswire aggregates newsworthy content shared publicly on Facebook by individuals and organisations across the world for journalists to use in their reporting. This will include original photos, videos and status updates posted by people on the front lines of major events like protests, elections and sporting events.”

FB Newswire can be found on Facebook a www.facebook.com/FBNewswire and on Twitter at @FBNewswire