The integration of WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger starts to win enemies – 07/02/2019
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Mark Zuckerberg's plan, Facebook's president, aimed at integrating the platforms of WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger officially won his first enemy. The idea of the executive is that with this, the user of any of these services can send messages to those of other applications.
But, as Zuckerberg had predicted, privacy protection agencies had not welcomed him. And the first to make a contrary decision was the German Bundeskartellamt, which prohibited Facebook from combining in a single structure the data collected on one platform with those collected in another service without the consent of their owners. The social network has one month to appeal to the Düsseldorf Regional Court
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However, the fight does not seem to end there, as Germany usually dictates a trend in protection of users' privacy. The country can also lead a wave of such actions because it shares with other EU members the legal parameters that came into force last year and which now require more than care on the part of companies that handle large amounts of personal information. The General Data Protection Regulation (GRPD) deals with cases such as Facebook.
The Bundeskartellamt regulates competition in Germany, as does the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) in Brazil. Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt, said that it was an action to prevent what would happen in the future, since the integration should only be completed as by the end of 2019. According to Facebook's plans.
Facebook's future data processing policy, we perform what can be considered an internal disinvestment of Facebook's data. In the future, Facebook will no longer be able to force its users to accept the virtually unlimited collection and allocation of data other than Facebook to their Facebook user accounts.
If users do not consent, Facebook will not be able to remove them from its services and should refrain from collecting and merging data from different sources
Mundt also states that Facebook is subject to special rules to be dominant in the social networking segment in Germany, where it has 32 million monthly users. Since there are no options on the Zuckerberg website, the word "ok" given by users when asked whether they accept or not the rules of the network can not to be considered "voluntary consent", says Mundt.
The company must take into account indicates that Facebook users can hardly switch to other social networks (…) A mandatory check in the box to accept the terms and conditions. Usage is not an appropriate basis for this intensive data processing. The only choice that the user can make is to accept the complete combination of data or not to use the social network.
The president of the Bundeskartellamt also said that Facebook did not know the extent of its power to collect and process information. Users collected everywhere on the Internet. Some information from people gathered in Instagram and WhatsApp are already sent to Facebook to feed content recommendations and advertising targeting.
In addition, companies that use Facebook tools, such as the "enjoy" button, also have access. send social data to people who have visited their sites or applications. Mundt reminds that it is not even necessary that these resources visible to an Internet user be installed. If a company starts using behind the scenes of its connected services, Facebook Analytics, it already shares data with the social network.
Today, data is a decisive factor in competition. In the case of Facebook, they are the essential factor to establish the dominant position of the company. On the one hand, a service is provided free of charge to users. On the other hand, the attractiveness and value of advertising space increases with the amount and detail of user data. So it is precisely in the field of data collection and use that Facebook, as a dominant society, must comply with the rules and laws applicable in Germany and Europe
For Facebook, the decision of the German company against the provisions of the RGPD:
The Bundeskartellamt underestimates the tough competition we are facing in Germany, misunderstands our membership of the RGPD and weakens the mechanisms provided by European law to guarantee a constant level of data protection throughout the European Union
