A PYMNTS Company

France: Facebook fined by watchdog

By  |  May 17, 2017

France’s privacy watchdog on Tuesday slapped Facebook with a $165,616 ($184.742 USD) fine on allegations the social media giant’s privacy policy breaches French law, the latest setback for the company in Europe where it is hounded by multiple legal and regulatory battles.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The size of the fine is comparatively small for Facebook, which brought in $27.6 billion ($30.7Bn USD) in revenue last year — almost all of which came from advertising. More important, however, the watchdog’s decision could force changes to the way the company operates.

    France’s Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, or CNIL, accused Facebook of compiling massive amounts of personal data for targeted advertising without granting users the option of objecting, the watchdog said. The regulator also accused Facebook of collecting data on users’ browsing activity on third-party websites without their knowledge.

    “We are disappointed with today’s news and respectfully disagree with the CNIL’s findings,” said a Facebook spokesman, adding they were pleased, however, that the watchdog had taken into consideration information provided by the company during the investigation.

    France first sent Facebook a formal notice about its concerns in January 2016 and held a hearing about the issue in March 2017, before deciding to impose the fine.

    Full Content: Irish Times

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.