Have you wondered what is wrong with the relationship between the European Union and Facebook? To support it right των πολιτών στην ιδιωτική ζωή, η ΕΕ απαιτεί από όλους τους δικτυακούς τόπους που έχουν βάσεις δεδομένων με Ευρωπαίους χρήστες να ενημερώνουν τους επισκέπτες για τη χρήση των cookies. Είναι μια διαδικασία που ονομάζεται «συναίνεση κατόπιν information".
However, the information-consent rule is widely open to interpretations by the EU privacy regulators, as illustrated by the ongoing problem relationship between Facebook and Belgium. The reason is again the use of cookies.
In November, a Belgian court ordered Facebook to stop tracking web users who are not registered with Facebook through social plugins used by third-party websites. Facebook was able to track on thenetwork even the activity of people who did not have Facebook accounts, through a special cookie.
Facebook distributes a cookie called 'datrfrom the code of social plugins but also Facebook.com itself. The company claims that the cookie data is necessary to secure its services from data breaches. (Good!)
So, according to the European Union, the cookie-informed consent policy does not protect users in using datr cookies, as it thinks it is a method of monitoring and collecting data.
In particular, the EU is considering very carefully how it can restrict health data tracking cookies and government websites.
Van Alsenoy, independent consultant of the Belgian Personal Data Protection Commission, told ZDNet that the Facebook Like button is now present everywhere as a social plugin and is used by third party websites. It is present on more than 13 million websites, covering almost all categories of websites. Health websites as well as government websites.
Most EU Member States "see" health and government websites as services that are necessary for a citizen, where the user has no choice but to use them. Their content should be open to all users, regardless of their privacy preferences.
Accepting a data tracking cookie through the Like button on health and on government sites is illegal under the EU.
"A Belgian judge has ruled that monitoring Facebook, even for non-users, even if only for security reasons, was excessive and violates a reasonable expectation of protecting their privacy," said van Alsenoy.
Every time someone visits Facebook.com, their browser receives or updates the cookie datr, regardless of whether they have a social network account.
The court ruled that Facebook would have to pay 250.000 € for each day that would not comply with the decision.
Facebook continues to use the cookie datr outside of Belgium and today filed an appeal against the Belgian court's ruling.
Meanwhile, political pressure at European level could give the EU more power against Facebook. A Privacy Protection Consortium consisting of Belgian, Dutch, German, French and Spanish regulators expects Facebook to comply with the Belgian judicial mandate across the EU.
The legislation adopted recently by the European Commission will also give more power to national data protection authorities to police the privacy policies of internet companies.
Thus, privacy regulators from across the EU can legally impose fines and condemn any person in charge of a website that they believe violates privacy rules in a country.
