Italian regulator fines Facebook \u00a38.9m for misleading users,\u00a0company criticised over data misuse and ordered to issue an apology on its website and app<\/p>\n
Facebook\u00a0has been fined \u20ac10m (\u00a38.9m) by Italian authorities for misleading users over its data practices.<\/p>\n
The two fines issued by Italy\u2019s competition watchdog are some of the largest levied against the social media company for data misuse, dwarfing\u00a0the \u00a3500,000 fine\u00a0levied by the British Information Commissioner\u2019s Office in September \u2013 the maximum that body was able to issue.<\/p>\n
The Italian regulator found that Facebook had breached articles 21, 22, 24 and 25 of the country\u2019s consumer code by:<\/p>\n
The company was specifically criticised for the default setting of the Facebook Platform services, which in the words of the regulator, \u201cprepares the transmission of user data to individual websites\/apps without express consent\u201d from users.<\/p>\n
Although users can disable the platform, the regulator found that its opt-out nature did not provide a fully free choice.<\/p>\n
As an additional penalty, the authority has directed Facebook to publish an apology to users on its website and on its app.<\/p>\n
In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said: \u201cWe are reviewing the Authority\u2019s decision and hope to work with them to resolve their concerns. This year we made our terms and policies clearer to help people understand how we use data and how our business works. We also made our privacy settings easier to find and use, and we\u2019re continuing to improve them. You own and control your personal information on Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s antitrust authorities have pressed hard against Facebook for data misuse. In 2017, the same authority issued a \u20ac3m fine against the company for \u201cinducing\u201d users of its WhatsApp messaging service to share data with the main Facebook app.<\/p>\n
In that ruling, the regulator criticised WhatsApp for misleadingly implying that users could continue to use the service only if they agreed to the data transfer.<\/p>\n
The fine issued on Friday is only Facebook\u2019s second since\u00a0the Cambridge Analytica scandal\u00a0brought the company\u2019s data protection practices to wider attention in March this year. But other regulators, including those in Ireland and California and the US Federal Trade Commission, have expressed interest in the company\u2019s practices.<\/p>\n
In Ireland, an investigation into a data breach affecting 50m accounts\u00a0could result in a fine of up to $1.6bn\u00a0(\u00a31.25bn) under the new regime established by the General Data Protection Regulation, which came in to force in May. However, Rowenna Fielding, a senior data protection lead at Protecture, warned that this sum was \u201ca ceiling, not a stipulation\u201d.<\/p>\n
News Source:\u00a0https:\/\/www.theguardian.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Italian regulator fines Facebook \u00a38.9m for misleading users,\u00a0company criticised over data misuse and ordered to issue an apology on its website and app Facebook\u00a0has been fined \u20ac10m (\u00a38.9m) by Italian authorities for misleading users over its data practices. The two fines issued by Italy\u2019s competition watchdog are some of the largest levied against the social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech-news"],"yoast_head":"\n