Facebook ordered to curb its data gathering activities in Germany
The world’s largest social media network says it will appeal against the Federal Cartel Office’s edict
Bonn — Facebook has been ordered to curb its data collection practices in Germany after a ruling that the world’s largest social network abused its market dominance to gather information about users without their knowledge or consent. Facebook said it would appeal the landmark ruling on Thursday by the Federal Cartel Office, the culmination of a three-year probe, saying the antitrust watchdog underestimated the competition it faced and undermined Europe-wide privacy rules that took effect in 2018. “In future, Facebook will no longer be allowed to force its users to agree to the practically unrestricted collection and assigning of non-Facebook data to their Facebook accounts,” Cartel Office chief Andreas Mundt said. The findings follow fierce global scrutiny of Facebook over a series of privacy lapses, including the leak of data on tens of millions of Facebook users, as well as the extensive use of targeted ads by foreign powers seeking to influence elections in the US. These have go...
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