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The European Parliament called for a full Facebook audit following a series of scandals related to data breach, including the Cambridge Analytica case.
MEPs call on society to allow the European Union organize a comprehensive audit to assess the data protection and security of users' personal data, following the scandal that data from 87 million Facebook users was abusively obtained .
In the resolution adopted today, they also urged Facebook to make additional amendments to combat electoral interference, saying the company had not only violated the confidence of the parties. European users ", but of EU law".
We asked the company to comment on the resolution of the parliament.
Earlier this month, the European Parliament's civil liberties committee adopted a similar resolution calling for a full and independent audit of Facebook and asking the company to make further changes to its platform.
The Libe Commission also called for an update of the EU's competition rules to reflect what it calls "the digital reality" and a survey of what it has called the "Possible monopoly" of major social media platforms.
In a statement delivered today after the vote in Parliament, Claude Moraes, chairman of the Civil Liberties Committee, said: "This is a global problem that has already affected our referendums and our elections.This resolution sets out the necessary measures, including an independent audit of Facebook, an update of our competition rules and additional measures to protect our elections. Steps must be taken now, not only to restore confidence in online platforms, but also to protect the privacy of citizens and restore confidence in our democratic systems. "
Resolution follows appearance of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg before the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament in May, and a series of parliamentary committee hearings, including with Facebook staff.
The new stringent EU data protection framework, the GDPR, only entered into force in May – the Cambridge Analytica violation is dealt with in the previous block data protection framework, which includes a patchwork of Member State laws.
And earlier in the day, the fine surrender to Facebook for this violation by the British data watchdog has been confirmed. The £ 500,000 fine is the maximum fine possible under the country's previous data protection regime.
In the new resolution, the deputies suggested that the data obtained by Cambridge Analytica could have been used for political purposes by both parties to the UK referendum on EU membership and to target voters at the same time. the US presidential election of 2016 – describing it as a bargain. It is urgent that election laws be adapted to reflect the digital campaign. (Visibly on the next European elections next May.)
To combat electoral interference via social media, MEPs propose:
- apply online traditional "off-line" election guarantees: rules on transparency and limits of expenditure, respect for periods of silence and equal treatment of candidates;
- facilitate the recognition of online paid political advertising and the organization behind it;
- prohibit profiling for electoral purposes, including the use of online behaviors that may reveal political preferences;
- social media platforms should tag content shared by robots, speed up the process of removing fake accounts and collaborate with independent fact-testers and universities to fight misinformation;
- Member States, with the support of Eurojust, should investigate allegations of misuse of the online political space by foreign forces.
In the United Kingdom, a parliamentary commission recently urged the government to give priority to updating the electoral law to take account of digital risks for democratic processes. Although the government has so far only taken a cautious approach, claiming that it still collects evidence through a series of reviews on different aspects of the issue.
Meanwhile, Facebook has put in place its own system of controlling political advertisers in certain regions, particularly in the United Kingdom. Although MEPs clearly believe that society needs to go further.
The UK DPA also called for an ethical pause on policy micro-targeting via online platforms, highlighting its concern over how data is used and potentially misused.
