Facebook is lobbying hard for the European Commission not to pass some proposed online privacy legislation. These measures could further hurt Facebook’s presence in Europe, coming in the wake of several battles with privacy groups about facial recognition technology. This is a large market for Facebook, and one they will be fighting hard to protect.
The proposed rules include one that would allow for a fine equal to two percent of a site’s annual revenue in the EU for serious privacy violations while also requiring the site to publicly acknowledge the violation within 24 hours of it occurring. Another proposed rule would give users the right to erase their information permanently from Facebook. It has been nicknamed the “right to be forgotten,” and Facebook takes serious umbrage with it, claiming that it could hamper freedom of expression and other people’s right to remember.
“It is important this can be implemented in practice, but as drafted the current proposal risks introducing measures which are both unreasonable and unrealistic,” said Simon Milner of Facebook U.K. and Ireland.
Facebook has continuously come under fire from privacy watchdog groups, and continues to face stiff opposition both with government agencies and the public. What do you think of Europe’s demands for stricter control over own online privacy?
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Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.