Belgian court orders Facebook to stop collecting users' data
Brussels: A Belgian court has ordered Facebook to stop collecting data of users or face a daily penalty of 250,000 euros. The court found the social media site guilty of breaching Belgium's privacy laws.
According to the ruling: "Facebook informs us insufficiently about gathering information about us, the kind of data it collects, what it does with that data and how long it stores it. It also does not gain our consent to collect and store all this information."
The social media sites follow its user's activities using so-called "social-plug ins," "cookies" and "pixels."
Facebook has been ordered to stop the practice straight away and delete any data that it obtained by means contrary to Belgian privacy laws.
The Belgian Commission for the Protection of Privacy (CPP) had taken Facebook to court.
"We are of course very stratified that the court accepted our argument in full. Facebook is currently running a big campaign stressing the importance of privacy. Let's hope that they now put their words into practice," Willem Debeuckelaere, Head of CPP, told VRT News.
Facebook said it would appeal against the verdict.
"We are disappointed with today's verdict. Over the past few years we have worked hard to help people understand how we use cookies to show relevant content and to make Facebook secure," the company said in a statement.
The European Commission (EC) has also warned Facebook and Twitter of action including enforcement measures if they fail to reform their terms of services to fully comply with the European Union's (EU) consumer rules.
It has found Facebook and Twitter wanting in aligning their terms of services with EU consumer protection rules.
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Election results 2024: High stakes battle in Maharashtra, Jharkhand as evm’s open today
Mumbai: The stage is set for the high-stakes Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections, as the results will start trickling in from 8 am.
In Maharashtra, the 288-seat assembly contest pitted the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) group, is eyeing a commanding victory, as suggested by most exit polls. The MVA alliance—comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP is trying to reclaim the state.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the contest for the 81-seat assembly sees the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA bloc vying for a second term against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA. Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s JMM, along with allies Congress and RJD, faces a stiff challenge from the BJP, AJSU, and smaller partners. With exit polls giving mixed predictions, ranging from an NDA edge to a potential hung assembly.
Additionally, bypoll results in 15 assembly constituencies across states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand will also be announced today.
