Facebook Fined Record $1.3 Billion Over EU User Data Transfers to the US

[Unregistered 4U]

Primarily due to mismanagement and far-east cost pressures.

As companies based OUTSIDE the EU have been able to maintain a level of dominance within the same far-east cost pressures, then it’s just down to mismanagement. And, when one considers how MUCH of the technology space originated from EU companies that were then sold to countries OUTSIDE the EU… it just makes one wonder why can’t companies based in the EU be managed properly?

Another counter-example: Airbus, now holding about 60% of the global airliner market!

Not a counter-example, really, it fits the mold of what’s expected from EU based companies today, like with ASML’s revenue being an impressive $22.308B, but TSMC, NOT based in the EU, making $72.873B.
$61.913B USD of revenue in all of 2022 for Airbus is NOTHING to be sneezed at, for sure. However, just limiting the comparison to US companies, GE had revenue of $69.01B USD… and there were number 53 US companies that made even more.

 

[East India Company]

Next step: User-influencing algorithms will need to be documented!

For user-influencing algorithms I hope we will soon have the same kind of trials that the cigarette companies got. They have tuned their products to maximise the dependency they create on their users, knowing very well all the damaging effects that they will create, just like the cigarette companies.

 

[constructor]

I keep hearing that many of these mega fines either never get paid or it's just pennies on the dollar. It's easy to issue a fine, but enforcing payment is a whole other story...

The EU Commission does not work like that.

When fines are settled they are paid – and if either payment is not forthcoming or additional violations occur the fines escalate upwards (as proportion of the total turnover of the corporation in question – not as a share just of profit!)and payment is enforced!

This is designed to significantly hurt the shareholders if they allow such violations to go on.

 

[constructor]

As companies based OUTSIDE the EU have been able to maintain a level of dominance within the same far-east cost pressures, then it’s just down to mismanagement.

As I've already said significant mismanagement certainly was a problem with Philips, but how many successful western manufacturers of consumer electronics do you know besides Apple?

(And even their manufacturing is mostly China-based.)

Not a counter-example, really, it fits the mold of what’s expected from EU based companies today, like with ASML’s revenue being an impressive $22.308B, but TSMC, NOT based in the EU, making $72.873B.

That is a silly comparison as both are completely different companies with completely different kinds of products.

$61.913B USD of revenue in all of 2022 for Airbus is NOTHING to be sneezed at, for sure. However, just limiting the comparison to US companies, GE had revenue of $69.01B USD… and there were number 53 US companies that made even more.

And...?

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

In the meantime everyone is calling out China over privacy. While the US just transfer data without any serious consequences. The data is already transferred the fine is pennies. Who knows how much data is already transferred without us knowing.

Yep 👍 Apple has also had to turn down many of the FBI’s requests for user data.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

As I've already said significant mismanagement certainly was a problem with Philips, but how many successful western manufacturers of consumer electronics do you know besides Apple?

(And even their manufacturing is mostly China-based.)

But, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Their manufacturing IS China-based. So, there’s no real reason why a similarly large tech company couldn’t have been based in the EU, with China-based manufacturing, with home offices in the EU. But, they’ve all gone elsewhere leaving the EU out of the loop. It makes sense to me that they’d look for regulations that can pull some of that money back into the EU, in much the same way that China has done.

That is a silly comparison as both are completely different companies with completely different kinds of products.

And they’re based in widely different areas, too. I’d just imagine the EU region would rather be collecting the taxes on the much larger number. With their fines and regulations, they’re making the way there. Much easier than fostering growth in the region.

 

[_Spinn_]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer company

My thoughts exactly 🤣

 

[ChromeCloud]

Even though I hate Facebook and Meta, they shouldn't be fined for this. That law is stupid and should be amended/deleted immediately.

EU: stop the nonsense, please.

Written by an EU citizen.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

Even though I hate Facebook and Meta, they shouldn't be fined for this. That law is stupid and should be amended/deleted immediately.

EU: stop the nonsense, please.

Written by an EU citizen.

I don’t like a lot of what the EU has been doing, but this is the best thing they’ve done.

 

[boyarka]

No doubt this ruling can (and in all likelihood will) have some unintended consequences.

The EU's focus is on regulation and they're rather ignorant on innovation, which is why they often don't see foresee the problems their regulatory flexing creates until it's way too late and innovation has moved elsewhere.

Oh yeah. very "innovative" to pass on user data to a bunch of alphabet soup agencies and/or commercial data processing third parties to violate the last shreds of privacy people may have.

 

[ChromeCloud]

I don’t like a lot of what the EU has been doing, but this is the best thing they’ve done.

The EU is being a bully, as usual. Doesn't matter if this time they are targeting an evil company, they are still acting as a bully.

 

[Mitochris]

No doubt this ruling can (and in all likelihood will) have some unintended consequences.

The EU's focus is on regulation and they're rather ignorant on innovation, which is why they often don't see foresee the problems their regulatory flexing creates until it's way too late and innovation has moved elsewhere.

I don’t think FB did much innovation by collecting user data for monetary gains via ads. This excuse that it’s in the name of progress is rather lame.

 

[constructor]

The EU is being a bully, as usual. Doesn't matter if this time they are targeting an evil company, they are still acting as a bully.

They're acting as cops to actually enforce respect for fundamental human rights!

 

[amartinez1660]

A wonderful world, that just works?!

🤣
I think that can happen right about now…
If someone decides to not buy, not online search, not do any activity remotely related to any of those companies it would be like living, in practice, as if they didn’t existed.

Sure it’s difficult getting rid of such conveniences, but it can surely be minimized to a reasonable minimum…
I’m a big fan of the idea of voting with you feet and wallets.

 

[maxoakland]

Can Facebook please just die already (Instagram and WhatsApp too)? Disgusting vile company. The world would actually be better without it.

Remember when they were talking about banning Tik Tok? We should ban Facebook instead

 

[maxoakland]

The China thing is... a little different.
Not that Facebook isn't dangerous or hasn't accepted money to help dictatorships interfere with foreign elections.

Facebook sells our data TO China

 

[Gengar]

Vile company. They’ve ruined every app they bought. Instagram is just a sea of ads now that completely disregards your own interests. WhatsApp was purchased just to obtain user data, which they’ll happily pay this fine for. Facebook, itself, has been 💩 for nearly a decade when they killed the “Wall” for the “Timeline,” only to not show you posts in a reverse-chronological order.

 

[svish]

Not surprised that Meta is breaking the rules. Cannot trust Facebook.

 

[obamtl]

This can have a huge impact on other companies as well. Google Analytics for example is already deemed illegal in the EU, yet businesses keep using it. Technically Office 365 or Teams would not even be allowed. I am sure even Apple is sending some data like the IP to the US (and yes, the EU deems an IP personal data)

Not true. GA is not illegal. You need the user's permission and you also have limitations, but it is actively used, including in government services.

 

[contacos]

Not true. GA is not illegal. You need the user's permission and you also have limitations, but it is actively used, including in government services.

It has indeed been deemed illegal in Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway among others

In January 2022, the Austrian Data Protection Authority decided that the use of Google Analytics violates the GDPR as it is “subject to surveillance by U.S. intelligence services and can be ordered to disclose data of European citizens to them”.

This is because the CLOUD Act allows US authorities to demand personal data from Google, Facebook, Amazon and other US providers, even when they’re operating (or hosting that data) in another jurisdiction.

This was the first DPA decision regarding EEA-US data transfers and it’s an exciting development for European privacy-first providers such as Plausible Analytics. According to Max Schrems and the Noyb team, this decision is relevant for almost all European websites.

Most websites use Google Analytics, Facebook Connect and/or other US-owned cloud services. There were similar recent cases concerning the use of Stripe and the use of Cookiebot / Akamai.

Noyb has filed 101 complaints throughout Europe concerning sites using Google Analytics and Facebook Connect. Similar decisions have since dropped in other EU member states including France, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

In fact, Germany also just basically deemed Google Ads illegal with a ruling against Telekom.

 

[obamtl]

It has indeed been deemed illegal in Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway among others

In January 2022, the Austrian Data Protection Authority decided that the use of Google Analytics violates the GDPR as it is “subject to surveillance by U.S. intelligence services and can be ordered to disclose data of European citizens to them”.

This is because the CLOUD Act allows US authorities to demand personal data from Google, Facebook, Amazon and other US providers, even when they’re operating (or hosting that data) in another jurisdiction.

This was the first DPA decision regarding EEA-US data transfers and it’s an exciting development for European privacy-first providers such as Plausible Analytics. According to Max Schrems and the Noyb team, this decision is relevant for almost all European websites.

Most websites use Google Analytics, Facebook Connect and/or other US-owned cloud services. There were similar recent cases concerning the use of Stripe and the use of Cookiebot / Akamai.

Noyb has filed 101 complaints throughout Europe concerning sites using Google Analytics and Facebook Connect. Similar decisions have since dropped in other EU member states including France, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

6 countries out of 27 have determined that GA as it is currently implemented by Google is illegal. The other 21 countries' Data Protection Authorities have not gone quite that far.

At the end of the day, GA is widely used, legally, by many organisations, including governments, in the EU.

 

[obamtl]

And analytics is not the problem. It's how it's implemented, including whether permissions are appropriately collected and whether the data ends up in a place where GDPR protections can be broken by another actor, thus nullifying the whole point of GDPR.

 

[justperry]

It’s 4:29 AM, I woke up to write:

-The fine should have been $10.3 Billion Dollars.
-Never Ever TRUST Facebook.
-Shut down Facebook to save Humanity.

As I have said for years, every fine should be at least twice as much as the former one, this until the fine is as high as total annual turnover, eventually leading to a complete ban/dismanting/break up the company.

 

[cicalinarrot]

As I have said for years, every fine should be at least twice as much as the former one, this until the fine is as high as total annual turnover, eventually leading to a complete ban/dismanting/break up the company.

No fines. Prison for who made the bad choices. The company is not a person, it wouldn’t suffer. And if you shut it down, it’d be workers and shareholders to pay. Powerful people must live in constant fear of consequences if they do something monstrously illegal (like… all people?!)

 

[constructor]

No fines. Prison for who made the bad choices. The company is not a person, it wouldn’t suffer. And if you shut it down, it’d be workers and shareholders to pay. Powerful people must live in constant fear of consequences if they do something monstrously illegal (like… all people?!)

The shareholders are supposed to suffer from such fines exactly because it's the voting shareholders who ultimately have control of the firm's leadership! That is the whole point of the exercise!

Criminal prosecution usually wouldn't have much of an effect on a foreign corporation, but seizure of local assets very much would!