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The Death Of The American Dream
1
Bye, Bye, Britain
How Many? Not Much!
HAYIR!
Black Friday – The Clocks Were Put Back 300 Years
JUDY COLLINS & LEONARD COHEN – “Suzanne”
So Long, Leonard
OMG – America!
Bring Back The Good Old Times!
You Should Be Worried, Donald…
Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp user data
WhatsApp banned from sharing data with Facebook in Germany
Such an arrangement is only allowed if both companies make sure that people commit to it, German privacy watchdog says – which didn’t happen
The German data protection agency has ordered Facebook to stop collecting user data from its WhatsApp messenger app and delete any data it has already received.
The social network announced in August that it would begin sharing data from its 1 billion-plus user base, including phone numbers, from WhatsApp users with Facebook for the purpose of targeted ads. It gave users the option of opting out of the data being used for advertising purposes, but did not allow them to opt out of the data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook.
WhatsApp’s hugely controversial data-sharing deal with Facebook is now officially banned in Germany.
The two companies announced last month that WhatsApp would start handing over data about its users to Facebook. Facebook would then use that data to help its ads, generating more information about the people using it.
That agreement caused huge outrage, with many people arguing that such an arrangement shouldn’t be allowed. What’s more, it caused embarrassment for WhatsApp, which has in the past committed to keeping data private and not using its platform for ads.
“This administrative order protects the data of about 35 million WhatsApp users in Germany,” said Johannes Caspar, the Hamburg commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, in a statement. “It has to be their decision, whether they want to connect their account with Facebook. Therefore, Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened.”
source: theguardian.com, independent.co.uk
Facebook’s privacy policy breaches European law
Facebook’s privacy policy breaches European law, report finds
A report commissioned by the Belgian privacy commission has found that Facebook is acting in violation of European law, despite updating its privacy policy.
Conducted by the Centre of Interdisciplinary Law and ICT at the University of Leuven in Belgium, the report claimed that Facebook’s privacy policy update in January had only expanded older policy and practices, and found that it still violates European consumer protection law.
“Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR) contains a number of provisions which do not comply with the Unfair Contract Terms Directive. These violations were already present in 2013, and they are set to persist in 2015,” wrote the authors.
According to the report, Facebook’s policies around profiling for third-party advertising do not “meet the requirements for legally valid consent”, while the social network “fails to offer adequate control mechanisms” with regard to the use of user-generated content for commercial purposes.
“Facebook places too much burden on its users. Users are expected to navigate Facebook’s complex web of settings in search of possible opt-outs,” wrote the authors. “Facebook’s default settings related to behavioural profiling or Social Ads, for example, are particularly problematic.”
The report also points out that there is no way to stop Facebook from collecting location information on users via its smartphone app other than to stop location access on the smartphone at the level of the mobile operating system.
“Users are offered no choice whatsoever with regard to their appearance in “sponsored stories” or the sharing of location data,” wrote the authors, stating that “users do not receive adequate information” to help them make informed choices where choices are available.
The authors continue: “We argue that the collection or use of device information envisaged by the 2015 data use policy does not comply with the requirements of article 5(3) of the EU e-Privacy Directive, which requires free and informed prior consent before storing or accessing information on an individual’s device.”
Facebook met with Bart Tommelein, the Belgian privacy minister, to discuss the report. The company claims that its privacy policy does not break Belgian data protection laws, according to reports.
Facebook is already being investigated by the Dutch data protection authority, which asked Facebook to delay rollout of its new privacy policy, and is being probed by the Article 29 working party formed of data regulators from individual countries across Europe, including the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.
“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,” said a Facebook spokesperson. “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.”
Hard to believe, indeed!
