Facebook investigated for forcing users to reveal too much information

Facebook is being investigated by watchdogs over claims it abused its market domination to breach data protection laws in Germany. The social media giant is accused of failing to tell its users about just how much and what kind of data on their Internet surfing habits it collected. It is the first formal inquiry into the company for violating competition rules. While the German cartel office is taking the lead in the case, it is also advising the European Commission and competition regulators in other EU states.

For advertising-financed internet services such as Facebook, user data are hugely important. For this reason it is essential to also examine under the aspect of abuse of market power whether the consumers are sufficiently informed about the type and extent of data collected

Federal Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt

Facebook, the world’s biggest social network with 1.6 billion monthly users, earns revenues from advertising based on data it gathers about its users’ social connections, opinions and activities in their postings. It also owns Facebook owns four of the world’s top eight social network services including WhatsApp and Instagram. But it has faced strong criticism from politicians and regulators in Germany, where data protection is strongly regulated, over its privacy practices. "There is an initial suspicion that Facebook’s conditions of use are in violation of data protection provisions,“ the country’s Federal Cartel Office said in a statement.

We are confident that we comply with the law and we look forward to working with the Federal Cartel Office to answer their questions.

Facebook statement

facebook data