Facebook ordered to stop combining WhatsApp and Instagram data without consent in Germany

guest · Feb 7, 2019

Facebook ordered to stop combining WhatsApp and Instagram data without consent in Germany
European regulators say Facebook users need more of a say in how their data is collected
February 7, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/7/1...-data-combined-banned-germany-fco-competition

Germany’s national competition regulator has ordered Facebook to stop combining user data from different sources without voluntary consent. The order applies to data collected by Facebook-owned platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, but also third-party sources that Facebook uses to flesh out its advertising profiles, including those of non-users.

The Bundeskartellamt, or Federal Cartel Office (FCO), has given Facebook one month to appeal the landmark decision, which comes after a three-year investigation.
Although the ruling only applies within Germany, the decision could influence regulators in other countries.

In a blog post, Facebook claims that such data privacy controls do not fall under the remit of the FCO, which enforces German antitrust and competition laws. But the FCO says Facebook’s control of multiple social networks combined with its high market share is “indicative of a monopolization process” and means intervention is needed.
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Rasheed187 · Feb 9, 2019

Finally someone who is trying to stop this madness. Enough is enough.

ronjor · Feb 10, 2019

Is Europe closing in on an antitrust fix for surveillance technologists?

Natasha Lomas@riptari
The order is not yet in force, and Facebook is appealing, but should it come into force the social network faces being de facto shrunk by having its platforms siloed at the data level.
To comply with the order Facebook would have to ask users to freely consent to being data-mined — which the company does not do at present.
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guest · Aug 26, 2019

German court suspends cartel order restricting Facebook's data gathering
August 26, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...icting-facebooks-data-gathering-idUSKCN1VG1AJ

A German court on Monday issued an interim injunction suspending a cartel office decision in February which sought to restrict Facebook’s data collection practices in Germany.

“The suspension of the order means that Facebook does not have to implement the decision of the Federal Cartel Office for the time being,” the Higher Regional Court in Duesseldorf said in its ruling.
It added that a final decision about the appeal will be made at a later stage.
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guest · Jun 24, 2020

German legal ruling deals Facebook blow in data use
June 23, 2020
https://apnews.com/58fc6fe8606d7e22bf3e8a06921f7a70

Facebook’s fight against German regulators was dealt a blow Tuesday after a top court agreed with antitrust authorities that the company was abusing its dominant market position in its use of users’ data to better target ads.

The Federal Cartel Office, or Bundeskartellamt, last year determined Facebook was exploiting its dominance in social media to force users to share data from other Facebook-owned services like WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as third-party websites through the “Like” and “Share” buttons.
It gave Facebook several months to stop collecting data and combining it with Facebook users’ accounts without their consent.

Facebook appealed that decision, and a Duesseldorf court ruled it did not have to comply with the regulations until the case had been decided.
In its decision Tuesday, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe overturned that decision, [...]
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“There are no serious doubts about Facebook’s dominant position in the German social media network market, or that Facebook is abusing its dominant position with the terms of use prohibited by the Federal Cartel Office,” the court said.
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SecurityWeek: German Court Orders Facebook to Rein in Data Collection

But Tuesday's fast-tracked decision at the BGH was aimed at settling a row about whether Facebook can keep combining data in the meantime.

FCO chief Andreas Mundt welcomed the preliminary outcome.

"When data is collected and used illegally, an anti-trust intervention must be possible to prevent an abuse of market power," he said in a statement.
Professor Rupprecht Podszun, an expert in competition law at Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, called Tuesday's decision a "big win" for the FCO.
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