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Facebook Could Face EU Sanctions If It Doesn't Change Its TOS (theverge.com) 134

Posted by BeauHD from the time-to-lay-down-the-law dept.
According to Reuters, Facebook could face sanctions for not complying with the European Union's consumer rules. "Back in February, the company was told to change its users terms and conditions to recently updated EU standards, but it has yet to do so," The Verge reports. From the report: In February, Facebook changed its terms of service, but to EU officials, it wasn't enough. "While Google's latest proposals appear to be in line with the requests made by consumer authorities, Facebook and, more significantly, Twitter, have only partially addressed important issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination," the European Commission stated in a press release at the time.

As detailed back in February, authorities want Facebook to better protect consumers' rights, including the ability to withdraw from an online purchase, sue in Europe and not in California where Facebook is based. The EU also wants more consumer-friendly rules around the social media platform's legal liability when its service performs poorly. According to Reuters, Facebook's non-compliance contrasts with Airbnb's obedience, as the rental platform adjusted its terms of service recently after being asked to do so back in July. Airbnb is now more transparent about pricing details and has better terms for consumers using its platform in the EU.
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Facebook Could Face EU Sanctions If It Doesn't Change Its TOS More

Facebook Could Face EU Sanctions If It Doesn't Change Its TOS

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  • EU needs to knock FB TFO (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    They're big enough to follow the law or GTFO, you go EU!

    • Re: (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Chas ( 5144 )

      Honestly I'm not really sure I can root for either side.

      Yes, FB is terrible.
      But the EU is AT LEAST equal in how terrible it is.

      Not sure there's actually an acceptable "winner" in this.

      • Re:EU needs to knock FB TFO (Score:4, Insightful)

        by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Thursday September 20, 2018 @02:54AM (#57346604) Journal

        Honestly I'm not really sure I can root for either side.

        That's cos you're a dumbass, just saying.

        But the EU is AT LEAST equal in how terrible it is.

        No it isn't.

        Not sure there's actually an acceptable "winner" in this.

        The EU.

        • no, the winners are the european citizens.
          When the TOS is changed, I can put photos on facebook without fear that they steal them and monetize them.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by sabri ( 584428 )

            no, the winners are the european citizens.

            The EU cititizens already lost when Brussel illegally staged a coup against the parliamentary democracies of its nation members.

            • The EU cititizens already lost when Brussel illegally staged a coup against the parliamentary democracies of its nation members.

              And when exactly happened that?

      • Re:EU needs to knock FB TFO (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20, 2018 @02:57AM (#57346608)

        In what way is EU terrible?

        Remember that Putin is investing a lot in creating animosity towards EU to make more countries leave.
        Just saying that EU is terrible or "undemocratic" isn't going to fly. You'll have to go into specifics if you don't want to be disregarded as just another Putinbot.

        • if you don't want to be disregarded as just another Putinbot.

          He's not a putinbot, he's been here for donkeys years. He is however a useful idiot.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Chas ( 5144 )

            Again, reasoned arguments.
            Not slurs.

            • Again, reasoned arguments. Not slurs.

              I love you you post a stupid opinion with zero to back it up and then expect everyone else to jump though some sort of weird formal debating hoops when engaging with you.

        • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward

          The EU is terrible because of all their bullshit regulation that they put in place while large swathes of the countries are against it.
          Just look at the recent link tax, the forced migration policies, the TPP (or was it TTIP?). People hate it so much that even the people voting on it are not allowed to have copies so they can't leak it to the populace and cause an uproar.
          What the hell kind of government is that?
          Now we have germany constantly pushing for a 4th Reich style EU army.
          Junker is threatening to ban

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by Anonymous Coward

            The EU is terrible because of all their bullshit regulation that they put in place while large swathes of the countries are against it.

            Large swathes?

            Just look at the recent link tax, the forced migration policies, the TPP (or was it TTIP?). People hate it so much that even the people voting on it are not allowed to have copies so they can't leak it to the populace and cause an uproar.

            Sorry, but the copy disallowance was forced by the US.

            What the hell kind of government is that?
            Now we have germany constantly pushing for a 4th Reich style EU army.

            What?

            Junker is threatening to ban English because he is ass blasted that no one likes french and he wants to teach the brits a lesson for daring to try to leave.

            Noone, even not Junker is threatening UK. They just made a dumb decision. That's all. And simply their problem.

            The EU is a giant shit show.
            The only good things about it are the ability to travel within europe, easily work anywhere, and use the same currency everywhere.
            All the other shit is not needed. I don't know exactly what EU leadership is trying to create but I think it can only fall apart.

            You really have no clue what it takes to have a single currency, right?

            There was an issue recently where one of them explained how voting works there, and it comes down to basically keeping you locked up until you get a yes vote.
            WTF is that?

            You also don't have any idea about what you are talking. So what's the difference?

          • The MEPs in the European Parliament only have a right to veto.

            The main power of the European Union is in the council of ministers. One per country. The problem is, ever since the Eastern European countries joined, Germany got themselves a bunch of lackeys which just rubber stamp whatever they want to pass. I still remember the brazen comments of the Slovak prime-minister once when there were dissenting voices in the Council regarding the treatment of Greece.

            Who was it that decided to just give a free pass t

            • The MEPs in the European Parliament only have a right to veto.
              That is bollocks. The EP works exactly like any other parliament in the EU.

              I wonder when we get rid of assholes like you balantly lying about the EU political system.

              Who was it that decided to just give a free pass to any emigrants that came to the EU? It was Germany and their lackeys.
              There is no such thing, idiot!

          • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Basically all your points are wrong.
            Where did you pick them up?

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Chas ( 5144 )

          Well. Their French model "Guilty until you prove innocence" justice.
          The fact that all the people with actual power are unelected and unaccountable.
          The fact that if the people with the power don't want something passed, it either isn't addressed, or they play parlimentary games to assure that the vote goes their way. And there's no way, beyond violence, to actually redress anything.
          The fact that what they're pushing for is the EU, which was merely supposed to be a trade alliance, as a totalitarian super-sta

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by Zocalo ( 252965 )

            The fact that all the people with actual power are unelected and unaccountable.

            Oh, please, the EU has not been the EEC for literally a few decades now. The people within the EU this misinformation is generally referring to are the EU's equivalent of high-level civil servants, you know, those people that are not typically elected by the general public in every single democracy, including the UK and US where this issue is particularly relevant right now. They are, however, is appointed by elected represen

            • No. In the EU the organ with the most power is the Council of Ministers, which has the Prime-Minister (or equivalent chief of the executive) of each country in the EU. They can both create laws, enact them, and veto them. The second organ with the most power is the pseudo-executive branch of the EU which is the European Comission. It has a President and a bunch of commissioners for different branches of the economy. The have the power to create and enact laws. They used to be directly chosen by the Council

              • Re: (Score:3)

                by Zocalo ( 252965 )
                Mostly different groups of people to the civil servants I was mostly talking about - the EC being the exception - , but lets break your list down:

                Council of Ministers - duly elected leaders of each member state, chosen by the preferred electoral system of each individual country.
                European Comission - not directly elected, but confirmed by the elected European Parliament (MEPs) even mostly for show, as I noted.
                European Parliament - as we both noted, elected by those EU citizens who can be bothered to do

              • Strange that the EP does not know that it only has the power to veto and is bringing law after law into existence.
                How does that work? Even more conspiracy? The commision is inacting secretly the laws crafted by the EP?

                • Point to one law they made. All EU directives either come from the Council of Ministers or the European Commission.

                  Europarl only has the right to veto the directives.

                  • You want to say, when An EU directive is proposed to the parliament, and the vote of the parliament is 55% against it 45% for it: they executed their veto right, but did not actually vote about it?
                    I think you are an idiot.

                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
                    https://europa.eu/european-uni... [europa.eu]

                    • There are ways to torpedo the Parliament and it has happened before. Like the Comission emits a directive, the Parliament flunks it, then the Council of Ministers passes it anyway. The European Parliament cannot veto the Council of Ministers which basically have all powers.

                      In other countries laws are discussed in the Parliament and can be proposed by the several groups in the Parliament. But the European Parliament is not like that. All directives come from the Comission. The Parliament cannot propose squat

                    • The Parliament cannot propose squat.
                      Of course it can.

                      the Parliament flunks it, then the Council of Ministers passes it anyway.
                      Are you retarded? No they don't. Because: THEY CAN'T.

                      Perhaps you like to read this:

                      The European Council defines the EU's overall political direction and priorities. It is not one of the EU's legislating institutions, so does not negotiate or adopt EU laws.

                      From: http://www.consilium.europa.eu... [europa.eu]

                      I'm tired about people who have no clue how the EU works.
                      IT WORKS EXACTLY LIKE A COUNTRY!!! Parliament = EP, cabinet = european commission, and because the EU is a kind of federation, it also has the european council, consisting of heads of state or delegates of

                    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

                      "However, in most areas the ordinary legislative procedure applies meaning both Council and Parliament share legislative and budgetary powers equally, meaning both have to agree for a proposal to pass. In a few limited areas the Council may initiate new EU law itself."

                      European Council != Council of Ministers

                    • Yeah a lot of people don't know how the EU works and you are a one of them. Except I prefer to call those people ignorant, whereas you preferred to call me an idiot when you are the one who's an ignorant.

                    • Whereas the Prime Ministers can simply veto a law and pass it to the relevant Council with the Ministers in that sector to pass it, torpedoing the Parliament if they want to. In fact that's how the European Union started. The Parliament is a latter addition to the system and it clearly shows.

                    • Sure, then you are an ignorant idiot.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Megol ( 3135005 )

            Well. Their French model "Guilty until you prove innocence" justice.quote>

            I assume you have examples?

            The fact that all the people with actual power are unelected and unaccountable.

            One could say the same about the US (supreme court) however that would be equally false.

            The fact that if the people with the power don't want something passed, it either isn't addressed, or they play parlimentary games to assure that the vote goes their way.

            Examples?

            And there's no way, beyond violence, to actually redress anything.

            Obviously false.

            The fact that what they're pushing for is the EU, which was merely supposed to be a trade alliance, as a totalitarian super-state and stealing the right of ACTUAL self-government from the member nations.

            They? The ideas what the EU should be are many.

          • The fact that all the people with actual power are unelected and unaccountable.

            That's a complete fabrication.

            MEPs get actualy meaningful votes and are elected. The EU council which has considerable power is drawn from elected officials from the represented countries.

            The EU commission is a bunch of civil servants who aren't elected in any system ever.

            The fact that if the people with the power don't want something passed, it either isn't addressed, or they play parlimentary games to assure that the vote goes

          • Well. Their French model "Guilty until you prove innocence" justice.
            Neither any european state nor the EU has that "justice".

            What kind of moron are you?

            The fact that all the people with actual power are unelected and unaccountable.
            That is wrong.

            as a totalitarian super-state and stealing the right of ACTUAL self-government from the member nations.
            Thats is completely wrong, who brainwashed you that way?

      • But the EU is AT LEAST equal in how terrible it is.

        Again, GDPR [eugdpr.org]. If you see anything detrimental to the end user in this, you're probably working for FB (...).

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Chas ( 5144 )

          The problem is, when both sides are blatantly anti-individualistic, whether FB wins, or the EU wins, it's nothing but Bad for the end user.

          • This is kind of a stupid argument. A government cannot be individualistic and neither can a company. Only a single person can be that.

      • But the EU is AT LEAST equal in how terrible it is.

        Oh please do tell. All of us here living in our wonderful "socialism" would love to know why we shouldn't outrank the USA in happiness and well-being indices.

  • Should Facebook change their documents or their behaviour?

    ToS and privacy policy only describe what a company does or promises to do.
    They are reflections, not the true thing.
    GDPR should change how our data is used, not how it is described.

    • Facebook TOS claims that I had agreed that all my posts are copyrighted by FB.
      That is nonsense under EU laws. My posts are copyrighted by me, who else?

  • Don't be surprised if companies start to hide EU-law-violating and even EU-legally-questionable content if they think you are accessing it from within the EU or are an EU citizen.

    If doing so "breaks" their economic model - say, by putting onerous burdens on the hosting company or by making an ad-based model infeasible, they may charge for access from the EU or deny access altogether.

    An "EU-surcharge" approach or even a " NO SOUP FOR YOU! [wikipedia.org]" approach may put pressure on voters to put pressure on their EU MPs to

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