Meta Platforms Inc (META)

[Investors3]

Good Article! Facebook has already been getting fined in France and I read of a recent ruling in Germany, but the big fines in Europe may be coming up soon for GDPR non-compliance, which starts May 25, 2018, with fines up to 4% of annual turnover of a company...

Facebook fined by French Data Protection Regulator
https://www.privacy-europe.com/blog/facebook-fined-french-data-protection-regulator/
by Johanna Soetbeer, LL.M. | intersoft consulting services AG | Germany
May 17, 2017, 10:03 am | Leave a comment

Facebook – criticized by European Data Protection Regulators since years – has now been `slapped` by the French regulator and was found ‘guilty’ on violating French privacy laws with a fine of 150,000 €.

Violation of Privacy Laws
The French data protection authority, the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique (CNIL), has found the social media giant guilty for failing to prevent its users’ data being accessed by advertisers. According to the CNIL, users have been tracked by Facebook on websites other than their own social media platform without their knowledge. And this data has then been shared with advertisers for the purpose of targeted advertising, thetechportal reports. The investigation – which started by criticizm of Facebook`s practices from authorities in France, Belgium and the Netherlands – lasted two years.

Collecting data without Legal Basis
In the Netherlands, the Dutch DPA found that the Facebook Group uses sensitive personal data from users without their explicit consent, i.e. by showing targeted adverts based on people’s expressed sexual preferences. Facebook has stopped this practice, according to the Dutch regulator.

In France, the CNIL fined Facebook for six violations, including collecting information on users for advertising “without having a legal basis”, FinancialTimes reports. Last year, the CNIL had given Facebook a deadline to stop tracking non-users’ web activity without their consent and ordered the social network to stop some transfers of personal data to the United States.

Facebook argued that the Irish data protection authority, not the CNIL, was the competent authority for such investigations, as Facebook’s European headquarters are located in Dublin. But the CNIL did not share this view – and sanctioned Facebook accordingly…

And what does Facebook say…?
A Facebook spokesperson said, according to the FinancialTimes:

“Whilst we respectfully disagree with the CNIL’s findings, we value the opportunities we’ve had to engage with the CNIL and reinforce how seriously we take the privacy of people who use Facebook. Facebook has long complied with EU data protection law through our establishment in Ireland.”

150,000 € Fine for Facebook
Well, the question of the amount should be allowed – 150,000 €? For Facebook? The company`s recent quarterly revenue has been $8.01 billion and Facebook has a stock market capitalization which stands at around $435 billion… But, we only need to wait one year until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May 2018. Then, fines up to 4 % of the annual turnover of a company or 20 million € are possible if the provisions of the GDPR are violated. Maybe Facebook will then be more careful to act in compliance with European Data Protection Laws…