Is Facebook tagging a breach of privacy? EU court battle looms for social networking giant. European regulators are investigating whether posting photos, videos and other information about people on websites such as Facebook without their consent is a breach of privacy laws.
The Swiss and German probes go to the heart of a debate that has gained momentum in Europe amid high-profile privacy cases - to what extent are social networking platforms responsible for the content their members upload?
The investigation set the stage for a fresh battle between U.S. internet giants and European authorities a month after an Italian court held three Google executives criminally responsible for a user-posted video.
Probe: Is posting personal information about people on websites such as Facebook without their consent a breach of European privacy laws?
Any changes resulting from the investigations could drastically alter the way Facebook, Google's YouTube and others operate, shifting the responsibility for ensuring personal privacy from users to the company.
Swiss and German data protection commissioners are demanding that Facebook explain its practice of allowing users to upload email addresses, photographs and other personal details about people who haven't signed up to the site.
'The way it's organised at the moment, they simply allow anyone who wants to use this service to say they have the consent of their friends or acquaintances,' Swiss commissioner Hanspeter Thuer said.
To conform with Switzerland's strict privacy law, Facebook could be required to contact people whose information has been posted online and ask them whether they agree to its being stored there.
'We've written to Facebook and told them they're not abiding by the law in Europe,' he said.
The probes are still preliminary and would not have immediate consequences elsewhere.
However, Weichert said the issue is being discussed with other data protection officials in the 27-nation EU, which in 2000 declared privacy a fundamental right that companies and governments must respect.
The European stance differs strongly from the self-regulatory, free market approach favoured in the U.S., where web companies have flourished by offering users free services if they provide personal information to help advertising target them better.
Eben Mogle, a Columbia University law professor and online privacy expert, said: 'If the European regulators get serious, it will create a significant conflict.'
Richard Allan, director of policy for Facebook Europe, said some of the functions being scrutinised - such as those allowing users to upload their friends' email addresses to find them online - were common across the industry.
The company has recently added a tool for non-users to have their data removed, he said.
Mr Allan added: 'As a global company what we're trying to do is to make sure that our systems meet the requirements of all the jurisdictions in which we operate.'
Google's data privacy chief Peter Fleischer, meanwhile, said he is 'still reeling' from the Italian court decision that sentenced him and two other senior officials to six-month suspended sentences for violating an autistic teenager's right to privacy by allowing a video of him being bullied to be posted on the internet.
Vetting all user-generated content would be costly because of the vast amount of data involved, claimed Mr Fleischer. It could also come close to censorship, because companies would be forced to draw the line between legitimate free speech and invasion of privacy, he said.
But Mr Fleischer acknowledged that users themselves should be more thoughtful about what they post, especially if it involves private material about others.
He said: 'Both as a matter of common sense and as a matter of common courtesy, users should not upload photos or videos of other people unless those other people consented.' ( dailymail.co.ik )
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