EU Commissioner Says Facebook To Face Sanctions If Not Complying With EU Laws Until 2019

EU Commissioner Says Facebook to Face Sanctions If Not Complying With EU Laws Until 2019

Facebook has until the end of this year to make necessary changes to comply with the EU legislation on consumer rights protection, EU Commissioner for Justice, Gender Equality and Consumers Vera Jourova said Thursday.

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Facebook has until the end of this year to make necessary changes to comply with the EU legislation on consumer rights protection, EU Commissioner for Justice, Gender Equality and Consumers Vera Jourova said Thursday.

"Facebook can face sanctions from the national authorities which work under the CPC [Consumer Protection Cooperation] network. They will look into the possible sanctions after the New Year in case they do not see sufficient progress," Jourova told reporters adding that she was losing patience on the issue.

The commissioner added that she appreciated the social network's willingness to cooperate.

"I want #Facebook to be extremely clear to its users about how their service operates and makes money. Not many people know that #Facebook has made available their data to third parties or that for instance it holds full copyright about any picture or content you put on it. I appreciate #Facebook willingness to work with us and #consumer authorities to solve all the issues by December this year," she tweeted.

Jourova also announced that Airbnb has committed to making the necessary changes to their terms and conditions and improving the presentation of their prices.

"The online players have revolutionised the way we travel, find accommodation and experience our holidays. But they also need to fully comply with the rules and take responsibility when things go bad. But EU consumers enjoy rights both off-line and online. I welcome Airbnb's willingness to do the necessary changes to ensure full transparency and understanding of what consumers pay for. This action is part of a larger push for stronger protection of consumers online. That's why we proposed reinforced consumer rules under the 'New Deal for Consumers' a few months ago," she said.

The company now has until the end of 2018 to make these changes on all EU language versions of their website.

On May 25, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect. In line with the new regulations, users obtained the right to completely delete personal information. According to Continental, the social media platforms in question often fail to meet privacy requirements and even transfer the responsibility for complying with data protection laws to users.