SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Facebook tracks visitors "secretively: no consent is asked for this 'tracking and tracing' and the use of cookies," the Privacy Commission said. (Photo: Ze'ev Barkan/flickr/cc)
Belgium Tells Facebook: Quit Tracking Us...Or Pay Up
Court gives tech giant 48 hours to stop using data-sweeping cookies to store data of visitors who are not members of social network
Nov 10, 2015
A Belgian court on Monday gave Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking visitors who are not members of the social media network--or start paying $269,000 a day in fines.
Privacy Commission, a Belgian watchdog group, sued the tech company in June for violating the country's privacy laws by using so-called "datr" cookies to track visitors without accounts and store their personal data for up to two years, including how long they stayed on the site, what they clicked on, and which preferences they set. The cookies even ensnare those who click a Facebook "like" button on other websites.
Monday's ruling said the company had to obtain explicit consent before it could collect such unique and identifying information.
"The judge ruled that this is personal data, which Facebook can only use if the internet user expressly gives their consent, as Belgian privacy law dictates," the court said in its statement.
The Privacy Commission investigated Facebook's use of the datr cookies for months before filing the lawsuit. "Facebook does this secretively: no consent is asked for this 'tracking and tracing' and the use of cookies," the organization wrote in May. "No targeted information is provided. The available information is vague and authorizes just about anything."
The commission's president, Willem Debeuckelaere, said at the time, "The way in which these members' and all internet users' privacy is denied calls for measures."
Facebook must "start working in a privacy-friendly way," Debeuckelaere said. "It's bend or break."
Facebook said it would appeal the ruling. The tech giant has previously argued that it is only subject to privacy laws in Ireland, where its European headquarters are located--a claim it has used in other countries, such as Germany, over similar privacy complaints.
"We've used the data cookie for more than five years to keep Facebook secure for 1.5 billion people around the world," a Facebook spokesperson said after the ruling. "We will appeal this decision and are working to minimize any disruption to people's access to Facebook in Belgium."
Monday's decision is the latest legal challenge to emerge from within the European Union (EU) against the tech industry. The European Court of Justice in October ruled that the right to personal privacy trumps government spying--a case that will force companies in the U.S., including Facebook, to come up with alternative means of transferring user data.
"It follows a trend of the courts in Europe," Alexander Whalen, manager of digital economy policy at DigitalEurope, told USA Today. "It does send a message."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A Belgian court on Monday gave Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking visitors who are not members of the social media network--or start paying $269,000 a day in fines.
Privacy Commission, a Belgian watchdog group, sued the tech company in June for violating the country's privacy laws by using so-called "datr" cookies to track visitors without accounts and store their personal data for up to two years, including how long they stayed on the site, what they clicked on, and which preferences they set. The cookies even ensnare those who click a Facebook "like" button on other websites.
Monday's ruling said the company had to obtain explicit consent before it could collect such unique and identifying information.
"The judge ruled that this is personal data, which Facebook can only use if the internet user expressly gives their consent, as Belgian privacy law dictates," the court said in its statement.
The Privacy Commission investigated Facebook's use of the datr cookies for months before filing the lawsuit. "Facebook does this secretively: no consent is asked for this 'tracking and tracing' and the use of cookies," the organization wrote in May. "No targeted information is provided. The available information is vague and authorizes just about anything."
The commission's president, Willem Debeuckelaere, said at the time, "The way in which these members' and all internet users' privacy is denied calls for measures."
Facebook must "start working in a privacy-friendly way," Debeuckelaere said. "It's bend or break."
Facebook said it would appeal the ruling. The tech giant has previously argued that it is only subject to privacy laws in Ireland, where its European headquarters are located--a claim it has used in other countries, such as Germany, over similar privacy complaints.
"We've used the data cookie for more than five years to keep Facebook secure for 1.5 billion people around the world," a Facebook spokesperson said after the ruling. "We will appeal this decision and are working to minimize any disruption to people's access to Facebook in Belgium."
Monday's decision is the latest legal challenge to emerge from within the European Union (EU) against the tech industry. The European Court of Justice in October ruled that the right to personal privacy trumps government spying--a case that will force companies in the U.S., including Facebook, to come up with alternative means of transferring user data.
"It follows a trend of the courts in Europe," Alexander Whalen, manager of digital economy policy at DigitalEurope, told USA Today. "It does send a message."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A Belgian court on Monday gave Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking visitors who are not members of the social media network--or start paying $269,000 a day in fines.
Privacy Commission, a Belgian watchdog group, sued the tech company in June for violating the country's privacy laws by using so-called "datr" cookies to track visitors without accounts and store their personal data for up to two years, including how long they stayed on the site, what they clicked on, and which preferences they set. The cookies even ensnare those who click a Facebook "like" button on other websites.
Monday's ruling said the company had to obtain explicit consent before it could collect such unique and identifying information.
"The judge ruled that this is personal data, which Facebook can only use if the internet user expressly gives their consent, as Belgian privacy law dictates," the court said in its statement.
The Privacy Commission investigated Facebook's use of the datr cookies for months before filing the lawsuit. "Facebook does this secretively: no consent is asked for this 'tracking and tracing' and the use of cookies," the organization wrote in May. "No targeted information is provided. The available information is vague and authorizes just about anything."
The commission's president, Willem Debeuckelaere, said at the time, "The way in which these members' and all internet users' privacy is denied calls for measures."
Facebook must "start working in a privacy-friendly way," Debeuckelaere said. "It's bend or break."
Facebook said it would appeal the ruling. The tech giant has previously argued that it is only subject to privacy laws in Ireland, where its European headquarters are located--a claim it has used in other countries, such as Germany, over similar privacy complaints.
"We've used the data cookie for more than five years to keep Facebook secure for 1.5 billion people around the world," a Facebook spokesperson said after the ruling. "We will appeal this decision and are working to minimize any disruption to people's access to Facebook in Belgium."
Monday's decision is the latest legal challenge to emerge from within the European Union (EU) against the tech industry. The European Court of Justice in October ruled that the right to personal privacy trumps government spying--a case that will force companies in the U.S., including Facebook, to come up with alternative means of transferring user data.
"It follows a trend of the courts in Europe," Alexander Whalen, manager of digital economy policy at DigitalEurope, told USA Today. "It does send a message."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.