صحافة دولية » Google and Facebook Facing Further European Scrutiny
Guardian
Who would be a big American web company in Europe?
Two of the biggest, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Facebook, have been facing scrutiny in the union over the last year or two, and the heat is getting hotter…
Facebook
A Hamburg data protection officer says he has begun legal proceedings against the social network after receiving “many” complaints that it has been storing details of people who have not even registered with the site.
In April, Facebook changed settings to allow people to withhold access to contacts in their email accounts, but the officer says previously-accessed contacts have not been erased by Facebook, which is therefore “against data privacy laws”, AP reports the officer saying.
Google
Speaking about a preliminary inquiry launched in February in response to complaints about Google, the European Commission s competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a conference in London on Wednesday (via Reuters):
“The work is at an early stage, but given the importance of search to a competitive online marketplace, I am looking at the allegations very carefully.
“If companies do establish themselves in a strong position in a market, there may be risks that they will use this position to foreclose other markets.”
Frankly, there is nothing specific there to suggest a conclusion of any kind against Google, but most reports are interpreting it as meaning “there could soon be an official inquiry”, as Telegraph.co.uk puts it. FT expects a full inquiry after the summer.
The ongoing preliminary inquiry was kickstarted after the commission heard complaints from Microsoft s German site Ciao.de, UK price comparer Foundem.co.u and French legal search site EJustice.fr that Google unfairly demotes them in search results - a claim Google denies.
Who would be a big American web company in Europe?
Two of the biggest, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Facebook, have been facing scrutiny in the union over the last year or two, and the heat is getting hotter…
A Hamburg data protection officer says he has begun legal proceedings against the social network after receiving “many” complaints that it has been storing details of people who have not even registered with the site.
In April, Facebook changed settings to allow people to withhold access to contacts in their email accounts, but the officer says previously-accessed contacts have not been erased by Facebook, which is therefore “against data privacy laws”, AP reports the officer saying.
Speaking about a preliminary inquiry launched in February in response to complaints about Google, the European Commission s competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a conference in London on Wednesday (via Reuters):
“The work is at an early stage, but given the importance of search to a competitive online marketplace, I am looking at the allegations very carefully.
“If companies do establish themselves in a strong position in a market, there may be risks that they will use this position to foreclose other markets.”
Frankly, there is nothing specific there to suggest a conclusion of any kind against Google, but most reports are interpreting it as meaning “there could soon be an official inquiry”, as Telegraph.co.uk puts it. FT expects a full inquiry after the summer.
The ongoing preliminary inquiry was kickstarted after the commission heard complaints from Microsoft s German site Ciao.de, UK price comparer Foundem.co.u and French legal search site EJustice.fr that Google unfairly demotes them in search results - a claim Google denies.
