A report made on behalf of the Belgian body responsible for privacy affirms that the Facebook operates in breach of European law, despite updates to its policy.
In particular, the petition was compiled by the Center for Interdisciplinary Legislation and ICT (ICRI / CIR) of the University of Leuven in Belgium and argues that the change in privacy policies made in January merely extends past policies and practices, consumer protection legislation.
As noted in the report, in the text of the policy Facebook states that it has permission να ανιχνεύει/ παρακολουθεί τους χρήστες του ανά ιστοσελίδες και συσκευές, να χρησιμοποιεί τις φωτογραφίες προφίλ για εμπορικούς και μη εμπορικούς σκοπούς και να συλλέγει πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις δραστηριότητες των χρηστών του σε συνεχή βάση.
"Facebook announced the changes more than a month earlier, but the choice for a billion or more users remained the same: agree or leave Facebook. To be clear: the changes made in 2015 are not very drastic. Most "new" Facebook policies and terms of use are just old practices that have become clearer. Our analysis indicates, however, that Facebook is violating European law.
First, Facebook places a heavy burden on its users. Users are expected to navigate a complex web of settings looking for possible opt-outs. The default ones settings related to behavioral profiling or Social Ads, for example, are particularly problematic.
What's more, users are not given the option of appearing in "Sponsored Stories" or sharing site data. Second, users do not receive sufficient information. For example, it is not always clear what it means to use images "for advertising purposes". Will the images be used only in "Sponsored Stories" and "Social Adverts" or will they go beyond them?
What are the "thirds Companies”, the “service providers” and “other partners” mentioned in Facebook's data usage policy?
What exactly are the consequences of extensive data collection through third-party websites, mobile apps, and purchased companies recently, όπως το WhatsApp και το Instagram;» αναφέρεται στη σχετική ανάρτηση στην by clicking here University's.
The position of the researchers is that the activity related to the collection or use of data on devices is not in accordance with Article 5 (3) of the EU e-Privacy Directive, which requires free and full prior knowledge before storing or gaining access to information on a person's device.
At the request of the Belgian Privacy Committee, ICRI / CIR in collaboration with iMinds-SMIT drafted the report, which analyzes Facebook policies and terms.
The report is part of the wider context of the material on which the committee will be based during its further investigation. The Belgian commission is noted to be part of a European task force with bodies from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
According to a Guardian article, there was a meeting between Facebook and the Belgian minister in charge, Bart Tomelein, to discuss the issue. The company claims that there is no violation of Belgian data protection laws.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
