Germans say Facebook abused position to illegally harvest user data

Stefan Mileschin · 24th June 2020, 13:05

Bad day for Zuckerberg

Germany's top court ruled on Tuesday that Facebook had abused its dominance in social media to illegally harvest data about its users.

The ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, upholding a decision by Germany's antitrust watchdog, is a major victory for proponents of tougher regulation of the world's largest technology companies. The case had been closely watched after German regulators used a novel interpretation of competition law to rule against the social media giant last year.

The authorities said Facebook broke competition laws by combining data it collected about users across its different platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as from outside websites and third-party apps. In Germany, Facebook now must alter how it processes data about its users. It was ordered to allow people to block the company from combining their Facebook data with information about their activities on other apps and websites.

https://fudzilla.com/news/51060-germ...vest-user-data

24th June 2020, 13:05	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 153,575	Germans say Facebook abused position to illegally harvest user data Bad day for Zuckerberg Germany's top court ruled on Tuesday that Facebook had abused its dominance in social media to illegally harvest data about its users. The ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, upholding a decision by Germany's antitrust watchdog, is a major victory for proponents of tougher regulation of the world's largest technology companies. The case had been closely watched after German regulators used a novel interpretation of competition law to rule against the social media giant last year. The authorities said Facebook broke competition laws by combining data it collected about users across its different platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as from outside websites and third-party apps. In Germany, Facebook now must alter how it processes data about its users. It was ordered to allow people to block the company from combining their Facebook data with information about their activities on other apps and websites. https://fudzilla.com/news/51060-germ...vest-user-data

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Germany may order Facebook to stop collecting some user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	14th January 2019 11:01
Facebook gave Lyft and others special access to user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	6th December 2018 14:22
Facebook considered selling user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	4th December 2018 15:55
Facebook pushed for access to financial firms' user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	19th September 2018 10:52
Facebook shared user data with 52 tech companies	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	2nd July 2018 20:30
Facebook says Cambridge Analytica may not have accessed EU user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	28th June 2018 19:32
Facebook is fighting the US on user data requests	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	6th July 2017 10:25
Brazil detains Facebook VP after he failed to give up user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	2nd March 2016 08:55
Facebook eavesdrops on private messages to profit from user data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	6th January 2014 08:51
'Socialbots' Steal 250GB of Facebook User Data	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	3rd November 2011 08:34