14 DAY TRIAL // On Friday, Belgia's privacy watchdog released a 28-page report that accused Facebook of non-compliance with European regulations regarding the collection and use of personal data.
Although the American company had previously admitted to having tracked non-users because of a "bug," the European organization is reluctant to take the claims for granted. They postulate that Facebook has been too dodgy in providing accurate explanations to the regulators regarding its handling of users' private information.
The report is just another of the many attempts made by European watchdogs to limit the control that US-based companies have gained in recent years, overriding the country's strict rules on Internet privacy.
The Belgian regulator accuses Facebook of refusing to collaborate with them by rebuffing the request to adjourn the implementation of the updated policy that the social media platform announced at the beginning of the year. The unjustified turn-down reinforced the European countries' conviction that the company is trying to by-pass the principles through ambiguous policies that leave room for interpretation.
Facebook is expected to implemented the changes
The report also lays out some recommendations that the social website is urged to carry into effect as soon as possible in order to avoid further conflictual occurrences. One of the precepts focuses on the tracking of non-users, namely people who never signed up for an account on the site, through Facebook buttons available on external sites.
The regulator also impels the social network to stop gathering users' information without their prior consent. European Facebook users should be notified beforehand of the company's intention of collecting and storing the information they make available when using the Like or Share buttons. This way, they can decide for themselves whether they want to continue and share their data or if they want to pull back.
The EU privacy rules clearly forbid the use of cookies without the users' approval, something that the American company failed to take into consideration. Furthermore, Facebook has provided no updates regarding the "bug" issue which had involuntarily led them to amass the information, leaving everyone in the dark on whether a fix has been implemented so far.
The Commission is set to release another report later this year, and users will get to see if Facebook acts accordingly and amends its policy based on the recommendations mentioned above.
However, this is very unlikely to happen as, according to the Guardian, Facebook does not seem willing to acknowledge the Belgian watchdog's authority, claiming that the company is currently abiding by European laws, as prompted by the European Commission.