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European
Watchdog Accuses Facebook of NSA-Style Spying
Facebook
acted like the US’s National Security Agency when spying on the
social network's European users without consent or authority,
according to a Belgian data protection watchdog.
22
September, 2015
Earlier,
the Belgian Privacy Commission (BPC) filed a lawsuit against
Facebook, which the BPC said is spying on people in "the very
same way" that the US National Security Agency (NSA) does,
according to media reports.
Speaking
at a court hearing, Frederic Debussere, a lawyer representing the
BPC, pointed the finger at Facebook, which is accused of breaching EU
law and violating the privacy rights of internet users.
"When
it became known that the NSA was spying on people all around the
world, everybody was upset. This actor [Facebook] is doing the very
same thing, albeit in a different way," Debussere said.
With
the case already being closely watched by privacy watchdogs in other
EU countries, including the Netherlands, Debusserre warned against
yielding to Facebook intimidations.
"Don't
be intimidated by Facebook. They will argue our demands cannot be
implemented in Belgium alone. Our demands can be perfectly
implemented just in this country," Debussere said.
It
was reported that the BPC is currently threatening Facebook with a
fine of 250,000 EUR (280,213 USD) per day for failing to respond to
its demands.
Earlier
this year, the BPC released a survey to show Facebook tracking
logged-out users as well as non-users who visit sites that use
plugins such as the like button; the survey said that the tracking is
fulfilled without explicit consent and is out of line with Belgian
and European privacy laws.
Facebook
has more than once rejected these accusations, claiming that the data
and conclusions in BPC’s privacy report hold no water.
Skype communication app is down across the globe
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