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Data Privacy: Silicon Valley Tech Business Battle EU Data Privacy Laws
Facebook is on the hotseat with countries in the EU over how they handle data privacy. The latest set of accusations were published in a report of an investigation that was requested by the Belgian Privacy Commission. The report finds that Facebook is acting in violation of European law. [While this report focuses on Facebook, the EU is targeting other American tech business giants like Google and Apple too.]
In an article by Tom Fairless of the Wall Street Journal, Günther Oettinger, Europe’s digital czar, said that “the Americans are in the lead, they’ve got the data, the business models and so the power. Google and Facebook will go to the member states where data protection is least developed, come along with their electronic vacuum cleaner, take it to California and sell it for money. That is why “we need one European data-protection law… If you use an iPhone, they know all about your creditworthiness, your shopping habits. Take car insurance. They know the last time you were involved in an accident.”
In particular, Facebook was singled out as a major violator. Facebook practices criticized by the EU include:
- Failure to secure consent from users to use their data
- Lack of free and informed prior consent for collection of device information
- Difficulty to opt-out of behavioral marketing
- No opt-out of mobile app location tracking
- Unfair contract terms
- Inadequate control mechanisms for limiting the commercial use of user-generated content
A Facebook spokesperson responded to the charges saying that “we recently updated our terms and policies to make them more clear and concise, to reflect new product features and to highlight how we’re expanding people’s control over advertising. We’re confident the updates comply with applicable laws. As a company with international headquarters in Dublin, we routinely review product and policy updates including this one with our regulator, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, who oversees our compliance with the EU Data Protection Directive as implemented under Irish law.”
