Facebook collected user data for commercial purposes and was not clear enough on this aspect towards subscribers: for this reason the Italian Antitrust prescribed Facebook Ireland Ltd. and its parent Facebook Inc., in November 2018, to comply and also for this reason, having received no follow-up, today it has arranged a total fine of 7 million euros towards the social network.
In particular, explains the Authority in a press release, “the Antitrust had ascertained that Facebook tricked users into registering on its platform by not informing them immediately and adequately – during the activation of theaccount – of the collection activity, with commercial intent, of the data supplied by them and, more generally, of the remunerative purposes underlying the service, emphasizing vice versa its gratuitousness”.
Furthermore, for the Antitrust, the information provided by Facebook were generic and incomplete and did not provide an adequate distinction between the use of data necessary for the personalization of the service (with the aim of facilitating socialization with other users) and the use of data to carry out targeted advertising campaigns. The Guarantor had ordered the two companies to publish a correction to better inform users, but the request was not implemented.
“The present investigation – concludes the press release – has made it possible to ascertain that the two companies have not published the correcting statement and have not ceased the incorrect practice ascertained: despite having eliminated the claim free when registering on the platform, immediate and clear information on the collection and use of user data for commercial purposes is not yet provided”.
According to the Authority, this is information that the consumer needs to decide whether to subscribe to the service, in light of the economic value assumed for Facebook by the data transferred by the user, which in fact, even if the registration to the platform is apparently free, constitute the payment itself for the use of the service.
