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Accusing Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram of "intentionally" violating Europe's strict new privacy rules that officially went into effect on Friday, Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems filed four lawsuits against the tech companies arguing they are still "coercing users into sharing personal data" despite rolling out new policies ostensibly aimed at complying with the new regulations.
Titled the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new rules require companies to explicitly and clearly request consent from users before mining their data, and Schrems argues in his complaints--which seek fines totaling $8.8 billion--that Google, Facebook, and the Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp are still utilizing "forced consent" strategies to extract users' data when "the law requires that users be given a free choice unless a consent is strictly necessary for provision of the service," TechCrunchexplains.
"It's simple: Anything strictly necessary for a service does not need consent boxes anymore. For everything else users must have a real choice to say 'yes' or 'no,'" Schrems wrote in a statement. "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."
While Facebook--which is currently embroiled in international controversy following the Cambridge Analytica scandal--insists that its new policies are in compliance with Europe's new regulatory framework, Schrems argues that Facebook and Google aren't even attempting to follow the new law.
"They totally know that it's going to be a violation, they don't even try to hide it," Schrems told the Financial Times.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Accusing Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram of "intentionally" violating Europe's strict new privacy rules that officially went into effect on Friday, Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems filed four lawsuits against the tech companies arguing they are still "coercing users into sharing personal data" despite rolling out new policies ostensibly aimed at complying with the new regulations.
Titled the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new rules require companies to explicitly and clearly request consent from users before mining their data, and Schrems argues in his complaints--which seek fines totaling $8.8 billion--that Google, Facebook, and the Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp are still utilizing "forced consent" strategies to extract users' data when "the law requires that users be given a free choice unless a consent is strictly necessary for provision of the service," TechCrunchexplains.
"It's simple: Anything strictly necessary for a service does not need consent boxes anymore. For everything else users must have a real choice to say 'yes' or 'no,'" Schrems wrote in a statement. "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."
While Facebook--which is currently embroiled in international controversy following the Cambridge Analytica scandal--insists that its new policies are in compliance with Europe's new regulatory framework, Schrems argues that Facebook and Google aren't even attempting to follow the new law.
"They totally know that it's going to be a violation, they don't even try to hide it," Schrems told the Financial Times.
Accusing Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram of "intentionally" violating Europe's strict new privacy rules that officially went into effect on Friday, Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems filed four lawsuits against the tech companies arguing they are still "coercing users into sharing personal data" despite rolling out new policies ostensibly aimed at complying with the new regulations.
Titled the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new rules require companies to explicitly and clearly request consent from users before mining their data, and Schrems argues in his complaints--which seek fines totaling $8.8 billion--that Google, Facebook, and the Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp are still utilizing "forced consent" strategies to extract users' data when "the law requires that users be given a free choice unless a consent is strictly necessary for provision of the service," TechCrunchexplains.
"It's simple: Anything strictly necessary for a service does not need consent boxes anymore. For everything else users must have a real choice to say 'yes' or 'no,'" Schrems wrote in a statement. "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."
While Facebook--which is currently embroiled in international controversy following the Cambridge Analytica scandal--insists that its new policies are in compliance with Europe's new regulatory framework, Schrems argues that Facebook and Google aren't even attempting to follow the new law.
"They totally know that it's going to be a violation, they don't even try to hide it," Schrems told the Financial Times.