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Germany Goes After Facebook Over Privacy Law

'Friend Finder' could get the social networking site a hefty fine

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 7, 2010 5:46 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Facebook faces legal action in Germany over the nation's strict privacy laws, Monsters and Critics reports. A privacy commissioner has charged that the site's "Friend Finder" breaks German law. The software looks at the address books of users and sends emails to friends asking them to join Facebook. That function breaks German bans on firms collecting information on non-clients and using it for marketing, he says.

"We consider the capture of data from third parties in this fashion impermissible under data-protection laws," said the commissioner, Johannes Caspar. "We want to demonstrate that German data protection law also applies to foreign firms that have users in Germany." He has given Facebook until Aug. 11 to reply.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, smiles at the annual Allen & Co. Media summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, Wednesday, July 7, 2010.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, smiles at the annual Allen & Co. Media summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, Wednesday, July 7, 2010.   (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
In this August 27, 2009 file photo, the social networking site Facebook login webpage is seen on a computer screen in Ottawa, Can.
In this August 27, 2009 file photo, the social networking site Facebook login webpage is seen on a computer screen in Ottawa, Can.   (AP Photo.The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld, file)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
scottaco
Jul 8, 2010 12:02 AM CDT
A non case. Facebook isn't invading the privacy of the friends. The member has given permission for facebook to compare their database with their known contacts. This wouldn't be any different than someone sending out a mass mail to everyone in their contacts book and asking them to join facebook too.
JGirl
Jul 7, 2010 7:51 PM CDT
no country, no government body, or single individual is in charge of, or owns the internet (that includes you, Mr. Gore). for a country to impose its laws on the world wide web seems ridiculous to me. recently the united states nabbed a well known canadian man, marc emery, for selling marijuana seeds online. americans purchased them of their own free will ofcourse, without being solicited, yet mr emery was charged and found guilty of breaking the law in the usa. thing is, he was not in the usa. if anyone broke the law it was the americans who knew it was against their law to have those marijuana seeds shipped to them. i will add that it was with the help of our own government that he was extradited - i am still majorly pissed that they gave him up. our laws on that stuff are much more lax and he was basically a bargaining chip or a scapegoat depending on how you look at it.
DontLikeYou___
Jul 7, 2010 6:03 PM CDT
"We want to demonstrate that German data protection law also applies to foreign firms that have users in Germany." Frightening.

 
Germany • privacy • Facebook • online privacy • personal privacy

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