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Social media giants alleged to have breached new EU data law


Sheetal Sukhija
27 May 2018

VIENNA, Austria - With the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) launching recently, hawk-eyed activists are keeping a close eye on Silicon Valley giants to see how the new law plays out.

Now, a privacy activist Max Schrems is reportedly to have found that online giants, including Facebook and Google have already breached the new law.

This week, Austrian lawyer Schrems' non-profit organization NOYB filed complaints against Google, Facebook and Facebook-owned services WhatsApp and Instagram alleging breach of the new law. 

According to reports, the complaints could result in penalties worth up to 7 billion euros ($8.1 billion).

In the complaints, Schrems alleged that the companies "forced consent" from users to obtain the right to use their data and comply with the EU’s GDPR.

The complaint was filed on the same day as GDPR was implemented, which means that firms must now obtain explicit consent from customers in order to use their data. 

Further, GDPR also allows people to request to see all the data firms have on them and to have that data deleted.

In the complaint, Schrems said, "Facebook has even blocked accounts of users who have not given consent. In the end, users only had the choice to delete the account or hit the 'agree' button — that's not a free choice, it more reminds (me) of a North Korean election process."

He further accused Facebook and Google of not giving users a "free choice" to agree to the tech firms using their data.

In the face of violations, the new law threatens to fine firms up to 4 percent of global annual turnover or 20 million euros ($23.4 million) — whichever is bigger.

Even since the law was implemented on Friday, companies in the region have reportedly been sending out emails notifying people of the changes to the law and have been asking users to give their consent to stay on mailing lists.

Following the complaint, Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, said in a statement, “We have prepared for the past 18 months to ensure we meet the requirements of the GDPR. We have made our policies clearer, our privacy settings easier to find and introduced better tools for people to access, download and delete their information."

He pointed out that Facebook had announced a new feature this month, which is called "Clear History.”

The feature reportedly allows users to see the websites tracking their information and delete the data from their accounts.

The feature was launched in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica revelations.

Meanwhile, responding to the complaint, a Google spokesperson said, "We build privacy and security into our products from the very earliest stages and are committed to complying with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Over the last 18 months, we have taken steps to update our products, policies and processes to provide users with meaningful data transparency and control across all the services that we provide in the EU."

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