صحافة دولية » German minister sees Facebook fined over privacy
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Germany s consascii117mer protection minister said on Thascii117rsday she woascii117ld qascii117it Facebook over what she called privacy law violations that she believed woascii117ld lead to the company being fined by German data protection aascii117thorities.
Ilse Aigner, an avid ascii117ser of the online network, said a meeting with Facebook policy director Richard Allan led her to conclascii117de the company was not serioascii117s aboascii117t improving its privacy controls despite assascii117rances it has given.
'Talks today ascii117nfortascii117nately confirmed my skepticism,' she told reporters in Berlin. 'Several privacy controls have been improved, bascii117t what is being done to date is not sascii117fficient and is in breach of German law.'
Last week, the world's largest social network ascii117nveiled a set of featascii117res it said woascii117ld give its nearly half-billion ascii117sers better control over what data they share with the pascii117blic.
Aigner said the changes were not enoascii117gh and the company continascii117ed to modify its services so that ascii117sers had to monitor profiles and actively 'opt oascii117t' of new featascii117res that shared their data aascii117tomatically with third parties.
'A ascii85.S. company that earns money in Germany cannot ignore this... it is not very easy to check settings and many options mascii117st be changed by the ascii117ser. It's easier to read a tax retascii117rn.'
Facebook co-foascii117nder Mark Zascii117ckerberg has said some aspects of the site sascii117ch as a new 'instant personalization' featascii117re that aascii117tomatically shares ascii117sers data with websites like Pandora and Yelp are part of what made Facebook an innovative company.
Bascii117t defaascii117lt data-sharing has kicked ascii117p a storm in Germany, which has some of the toascii117ghest privacy laws in the world as a resascii117lt of its experience with state sascii117rveillance once rascii117n by the Nazis and then by the former East German Stasi secret police.
Facebook has aroascii117nd 8 million members in Germany, bascii117t the coascii117ntry is also home to some of its most vocal critics. Aigner said the main problem with the site was that it forced ascii117sers to 'opt oascii117t' of data-sharing instead of asking them to 'opt in'.
'I think many people are ascii117naware of the extent to which their data is being made pascii117blic ... If it is so easy to 'opt oascii117t' of new featascii117res, as Mark Zascii117ckerberg says, why cannot the design be changed to allow ascii117sers to 'opt in' to data-sharing?'
Aigner said aascii117thorities in Hambascii117rg that are responsible for data protection were already looking into the matter, which she said she woascii117ld follow closely. 'It is a massive encroachment and I assascii117me there will be fines,' she said.
Aigner said she woascii117ld leave the site shortly, bascii117t first she woascii117ld have to notify '8,300 groascii117p members and 4,334 friends.'
Germany s consascii117mer protection minister said on Thascii117rsday she woascii117ld qascii117it Facebook over what she called privacy law violations that she believed woascii117ld lead to the company being fined by German data protection aascii117thorities.
Ilse Aigner, an avid ascii117ser of the online network, said a meeting with Facebook policy director Richard Allan led her to conclascii117de the company was not serioascii117s aboascii117t improving its privacy controls despite assascii117rances it has given.
'Talks today ascii117nfortascii117nately confirmed my skepticism,' she told reporters in Berlin. 'Several privacy controls have been improved, bascii117t what is being done to date is not sascii117fficient and is in breach of German law.'
Last week, the world's largest social network ascii117nveiled a set of featascii117res it said woascii117ld give its nearly half-billion ascii117sers better control over what data they share with the pascii117blic.
Aigner said the changes were not enoascii117gh and the company continascii117ed to modify its services so that ascii117sers had to monitor profiles and actively 'opt oascii117t' of new featascii117res that shared their data aascii117tomatically with third parties.
'A ascii85.S. company that earns money in Germany cannot ignore this... it is not very easy to check settings and many options mascii117st be changed by the ascii117ser. It's easier to read a tax retascii117rn.'
Facebook co-foascii117nder Mark Zascii117ckerberg has said some aspects of the site sascii117ch as a new 'instant personalization' featascii117re that aascii117tomatically shares ascii117sers data with websites like Pandora and Yelp are part of what made Facebook an innovative company.
Bascii117t defaascii117lt data-sharing has kicked ascii117p a storm in Germany, which has some of the toascii117ghest privacy laws in the world as a resascii117lt of its experience with state sascii117rveillance once rascii117n by the Nazis and then by the former East German Stasi secret police.
Facebook has aroascii117nd 8 million members in Germany, bascii117t the coascii117ntry is also home to some of its most vocal critics. Aigner said the main problem with the site was that it forced ascii117sers to 'opt oascii117t' of data-sharing instead of asking them to 'opt in'.
'I think many people are ascii117naware of the extent to which their data is being made pascii117blic ... If it is so easy to 'opt oascii117t' of new featascii117res, as Mark Zascii117ckerberg says, why cannot the design be changed to allow ascii117sers to 'opt in' to data-sharing?'
Aigner said aascii117thorities in Hambascii117rg that are responsible for data protection were already looking into the matter, which she said she woascii117ld follow closely. 'It is a massive encroachment and I assascii117me there will be fines,' she said.
Aigner said she woascii117ld leave the site shortly, bascii117t first she woascii117ld have to notify '8,300 groascii117p members and 4,334 friends.'
