Το Facebook καταδικάστηκε από ένα δικαστήριο της Γερμανίας για τους όρους χρήσης της serviceand the default privacy settings it uses. Naturally, the largest social network immediately appealed.
In the present case, the litigation was between Facebook, and the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, or VZBV from the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband.
VZBV reportedly has a problem with the Friend Finder tool, the use of users' photos in the social network's ads, and the data exchange between WhatsApp and Facebook.
This time, the district court in Berlin agreed with the VZBV that Facebook violates German data protection law. protectionς δεδομένων, συλλέγοντας δεδομένα από τους χρήστες του, χωρίς να τους παρέχει τις πληροφορίες που χρειάζονται για να έχουν κάποια διαφορετική επιλογή.
The court said Facebook's default settings violated the law: the mobile app automatically collects information from users who share their site and user profiles are apparent by default on search engines.
The judges also agreed that eight of Facebook's terms and conditions did not meet the legal requirements required for users to consent because they are too complex.
These terms include prefabricated statements that allow Facebook to have the right to use the names and profile pictures of its users in its advertisements, as well as to promote the data it collects in the US.
The same is true of the Facebook term that forces service members to use their real names.
VZBV is unconvinced that these practices are not legal.
"Online service providers must allow users to use their services anonymously, for example, using a pseudonym," said VZBV policy officer Heiko Dünkel, referring to the German Telemedia Act.
The court issued its decision in mid-January, but the ruling was published on Monday.
A Facebook spokesman said the company has already changed its policies since the 2015 case began and will soon change them.
The General Data Protection Regulation (General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR) which will come into effect in May 2018, will bring much stricter privacy rules across the European Union.
Companies like Facebok should change the way they manage their personal data.
