These are all technical and business considerations that make clear that the change in terms of service are not bad. I don't think the controvery is about the change in terms, but more about what is and was already happening.
If WhatsApp is doing things that are just on the border of legal, or let's say unpleasant for a lot of people, every time the terms of service get updated, people will be confronted with them. That is a risk, looking at what WhatsApp is doing. If I were CEO of WhatsApp I would want to be as quiet as possible about what kind of things that are happening outside of view. Every change to these terms of service, every time you point them out, you run the risk of people complaining about all the unpleasant things that are happening.
If WhatsApp is doing things that are just on the border of legal, or let's say unpleasant for a lot of people, every time the terms of service get updated, people will be confronted with them. That is a risk, looking at what WhatsApp is doing. If I were CEO of WhatsApp I would want to be as quiet as possible about what kind of things that are happening outside of view. Every change to these terms of service, every time you point them out, you run the risk of people complaining about all the unpleasant things that are happening.