On Monday 11 September, the Spanish data protection agency announced that it had fined Facebook €1.2 million for breaching the protection of its users' data.
The American company is accused of collecting information such as the political views and religion of its users without having obtained their clear consent, AFP reports. The Spanish agency also argues that Facebook uses these data for advertising purposes and does not remove them, even if a user's account is closed.
Facebook has two months to challenge the fine and is reported to have already announced its intention to appeal against the decision, stressing that its users are free to decide which information appears on their profiles and that it complies with EU data protection law.
Readers may recall that in May this year and after being placed on formal notice to comply with the French legislation in this area (see EUROPE 11486), the French regulator, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL), ordered the American giant to pay a fine of €150,000, also accusing it of collecting data for advertising purposes.
According to AFP, a contact group has been set up to act at European level, covering several countries that have opened investigations or infringement proceedings against Facebook. These countries are Belgium, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)