Facebook rolling out privacy choices under European rules ‘It will be rolled out in the next weeks and months’
MENLO PARK: Facebook announced yesterday it would begin rolling out changes to how it handles private data this week to comply with forthcoming EU rules, with European residents seeing the measures first. The social network, which has been rocked by disclosures about the hijacking of personal data on tens of millions of its users, said it will start implementing “new privacy experiences” to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which become effective May 25.
“Everyone-no matter where they live-will be asked to review important information about how Facebook uses data and make choices about their privacy on Facebook,” said a statement from chief privacy officer Erin Egan and deputy general counsel Ashlie Beringer. “We’ll begin by rolling these choices out in Europe this week.”
Under the new policy, Facebook users will be asked to review and make choices about ads they receive, including whether they want Facebook to use data from third parties. Facebook users will also be asked to review and choose what to share about the political, religious, and relationship information on their profiles.
Additionally, users will be allowed to opt in or out of use of facial recognition technology. The statement said users will be told that facial recognition is optional, but that it could offer some benefit, such as being notified when someone is using an unauthorized picture. “We not only want to comply with the law, but also go beyond our obligations to build new and improved privacy experiences for everyone on Facebook,” Egan and Beringer wrote.
The news comes a week after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg faced 10 hours of questioning in two congressional panels following revelations that personal data was harvested on 87 million users by Cambridge Analytica, a consultancy working for Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Zuckerberg testified that Facebook intends to offer the same privacy protections embodied in GDPR for its worldwide users, but that there could be some differences in format.
Egan and Beringer said Facebook users in the EU will start seeing the requests this week so they can make choices before May 25. “It will be rolled out in the next weeks and months” globally added deputy chief privacy officer Rob Sherman, with no specific date yet set for the United States. They added that Facebook would take steps to comply with the EU rules that limit advertising and public viewing of data for teens. This will mean no use of facial recognition for anyone under age 18 and limitations on who can see certain information teens have shared. To comply with GDPR, Facebook will also limit what it shows to users between the ages of 13 and 15 unless they get permission from a parent.
New and improved privacy experiences
Russia to probe Facebook Elsewhere, Russia’s telecoms watchdog plans to probe Facebook before the end of the year after blocking access in the country to the popular messaging app Telegram, its head said yesterday. “We will conduct a probe of the company before the end of 2018,” the head of state regulator Roskomnadzor, Alexander Zharov, told pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia.
Russia’s telecoms regulator has repeatedly warned Facebook it could be banned this year unless it complies with a law on the personal data of Russian nationals. A 2014 law requiring foreign messaging services, search engines and social networking sites to store the personal data of Russian users inside the country has caused widespread concern as it is seen as putting the information at risk of being accessed by Russian intelligence services.
Zharov told Izvestia that Facebook still did not comply with the Russian legislation. “They are already significantly late in their deadlines and in complying with other laws,” Zharov said, referring to Facebook. “The question of a ban will be raised” if Facebook does not fully comply with the law, he said, adding that he meets with representatives of the social media giant “around once every half a year.”
Roskomnadzor began blocking the popular messaging app Telegram on Monday after a court banned the service for refusing to give the security services access to private conversations. The ruling came after a longrunning battle between the Russian authorities and Telegram, which has a reputation for securely encrypted communications, as Moscow pushes to increase surveillance of internet activities. Telegram, a free application that lets people exchange messages, stickers, photos and videos, has attracted more than 200 million users since its launch by Russia’s Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai in 2013. On Tuesday, Roskomnadzor blocked millions of IP addresses that were used to get around the Telegram ban. Facebook and Telegram are widely used by the opposition to President Vladimir Putin to coordinate protests and make political statements. The Kremlin’s press service also used Telegram to communicate with journalists but earlier this week switched to ICQ, a 1990s chat service now controlled by Kremlin-friendly billionaire Alisher Usmanov.