A pioneering decision was published today by the German Antitrust Office (Bundeskartellamt). The decision states that Facebook must have the consent of the user before collecting data outside of the social network.
Οι Γερμανικές ρυθμιστικές αρχές αποφάνθηκαν ότι η χρήση πρόσθετων υπηρεσιών από το Faceboοk, όπως οι WhatsApp, Instagram, Faceboοk Analytics και γενικότερα τα social buttons που υπάρχουν σε κάθε ιστοσελίδα στο internet, και συλλέγουν δεδομένα από τους χρήστες ακόμα και όταν δεν χρησιμοποιούν το κοινωνικό network, is illegal and should be banned for reasons of fair competition between companies technologys.
Bundeskartellamt executives reported that Facebook could continue to collect data from each service but should store them separately so they can not merge with existing Facebook profiles unless the company has the express endorsement of the end user .
Facebook vs Bundeskartellamt
"In the future, FaceBook will no longer be able to force its users to agree to virtually unlimited data collection and outsourcing outside of FaceBook," said Andreas Mundt, President of Bundeskartellamt ().EN/DE).
"The combination of data from different sources makes it essential that Facebook is able to create a unique database for each individual user and thus gain market power," Mundt added.
The Bundeskartellamt has published an essay (PDF) detailing their findings and how unlimited data collection from the social network's users helped the company beat the competition during duration of years, allowing it to create a dominant position, almost impossible to overcome by others in the market.
The above report is the result of a nearly three-year survey of data collection practices that Facebok uses.
“We have been working with the Bundeskartellamt for almost three years and will continue our discussions. We disagree with their conclusions and intend to appeal to people in Germany to continue to benefit fully from all our services. " he said today Facebook.
Facebok claims that its data collection practices are covered by privacy laws and the new EU GDPR Directive. But it does not mention anything about antitrust law.
FaceBook has a month to appeal the ruling to a German court. The Bundeskartellamt decision at present has no legal authority. According to the service report, Bundeskartellamt would like Facebook to have "an implementation plan" to address these issues.
However, if FaceBook does not comply, "Bundeskartellamt decisions can be implemented through certain legal measures," the report said.
"These include the possibility of imposing a monetary fine (10% of the annual cycle work) or periodic fines (maximum amount of 10 million euros per fine) which can be imposed at specific time intervals.
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