Viennese students: New complaints against Facebook Group

The group of Viennese students around Schrems Max has introduced six new complaints against the media group on Facebook

This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Commission, Kira O'Sullivan on Tuesday on request. One of the complaints directed against the "Like" - feature the popular website. This will allow students to view the eavesdropping of user data.

Facebook knows too much

The complaints of " europe- v- facebook "affect the privacy settings for images that users on Facebook online. If you know the link to an image, it is available to anyone, even if you've limited your ability to sue the Viennese. The software from Facebook does not allow real access rights control.

Questionable practices in the stocks erase

Deleted images are also available and would be further removed only with great delay. It is therefore possible for non-technical staff, supposedly deleted from the digital images afterward trash can to fish, said Schrems. Other complaints concern the membership in Facebook groups, changing the privacy rules by Facebook without notifying users, and the obligations of the Company to its customers.

Facebook has its European headquarters in Dublin and is therefore under Irish jurisdiction. The Irish data protection authority has to complaints from Vienna to an investigation initiated by the U.S. and consolidated response to a comprehensive inquiry requested. This is expected in late September. In October will be decided on the allegations in an official examination, said O'Sullivan. The authority may instruct Facebook, among other things to change its data policy. Facebook refuses, the case goes before the Irish courts.

The aim of the initiative is, according to Schrems, Facebook to comply with European privacy standards bring. He even use Facebook very happy, said the 23 - year old, who studied law at Vienna University. "It's about using social media without being able to worry." For the control of Internet companies, the student wants a stronger role of the state. "It is ridiculous that a 23 - .-year-old must be active here "

The idea for the complaint against Facebook Schrems came during a semester abroad at the American University of Santa Clara in California's Silicon Valley, the seat of many high- tech companies. At his university were repeatedly Privacy Officer of the big Internet companies occurred. "They said, European law well and good, but we are doing in Europe anyway, what we want." He then sought a term paper written on the subject, which served as the basis for the initial complaint.

First action was in the summer

Brought by the Vienna group Schrems brought an application in June, a first in Ireland. Previously was in Germany has been collecting the data from Facebook restricted by the authorities. Even the competent EU Commissioner Viviane Reding had called for more transparency in September of social media like Facebook.

The media group could about the many sites involved in "Like" - button (in German "Like") keeps track of users on the Internet. The data collected could include evidence of political commitment or visiting porn sites, says the appeal of Facebook WienerWas do with this knowledge is unclear. Probably go for Facebook to commercial use - say, a sale to wealthy customers - the data, said the spokesman for the group, Max Schrems.

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