EU leaders urge social networks to guarantee users’ privacy

BRUSSELS: European Union leaders yesterday urged social networks to guarantee transparent practices and fully protect personal information as pressure piled on Facebook after allegations that data from 50 million of its users was mishandled.

More than $US50 billion ($NZ69 billion) has been wiped off Facebook’s market value after reports British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election.

‘‘Social networks and digital platforms need to guarantee transparent practices and full protection of citizens’ privacy and personal data,’’ the Euro pean Union heads of state said after meeting in Brussels. ‘‘EU and national legislation must be respected and enforced.’’

The user data harvesting happened before a new EU data protection law comes into force under which companies could be fined up to 4% of global turnover for violating it.

‘‘We cannot apply the sanc tions which are coming with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) from May onwards,’’ EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova told reporters yesterday.

In Britain, which is leading the investigation from the European side, the maximum sanction is £500,000 ($NZ978,000) Jourova said, an insignificant amount compared to Facebook’s $US40.65 billion in revenue for 2017.

Yesterday, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg apologised for mistakes his company made and promised to restrict developers’ access to user information as part of a plan to improve privacy protection.

Jourova said more than one announcement would be needed to renew people’s trust in Facebook.

‘‘This is much more serious because here we witness the threat to democracy, to democratic plurality. It is endangering the free electoral choices of the people in Europe,’’ she said. — Reuters