Facebook and Twitter still have much to do to fully align their terms and conditions of service with EU consumer protection law, the European Commission stated on Thursday 15 February, showing signs of loss of patience.
It was on that same day that the social media giants Google+, Facebook and Twitter published the changes they had brought in to end unfair conditions and to tackle fraud and scams targeting consumers, following the call by the European Commission and EU member state consumer protection organisations in March 2017 to comply with EU law within a month (see EUROPE 11748).
Google’s latest proposals appear to be in line with the requests made by consumer authorities but Facebook and, especially, Twitter, have only partially addressed important issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination.
When it comes to the “notice and action procedure” used by consumer protection authorities to report and request the removal of illegal content, the changes by some companies are insufficient. While Google+ has set up a protocol, including deadlines to deal with the requests, Facebook and Twitter have agreed only to provide a dedicated e-mail address that national authorities can use to notify infringements, without committing to deal with such requests within specific timeframes.
The three social media operators have, however, agreed to comply on a number of points: EU social network users will no longer be required to waive the rights they enjoy in the EU, such as the right to withdraw from an on-line purchase; they will be able to go to court in their member state of residence rather than having Californian law apply. Furthermore, platforms will accept their liability towards European consumers in connection with the performance of the service.
“I am pleased that the enforcement of EU rules to protect consumers by national authorities is bearing fruit, as some companies are now making their platforms safer for consumers; however, it is unacceptable that this is still not complete and it is taking so much time. This confirms that we need a ‘New Deal for Consumers’: EU consumer rules should be respected and if companies don’t comply, they should face sanctions”, said European Justice and Consumers Commissioner Vera Jourová in a press release.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) believes that the changes are insufficient and that Commission needs to take urgent action in its upcoming legislative package dedicated to updating consumer law – the “New Deal for Consumers” expected in mid-April (see EUROPE 11917) – and make sure that all companies that do not respect EU law face “serious and deterrent sanctions, including fines that are calculated on the basis of the company’s annual worldwide turnover”, said BEUC Director General Monique Goyens. (Original version on French by Aminata Niang)