French Authorities Warn Facebook Over User Data Sharing With The U.S

The French data-protection regulator threatened the social media giant with financial sanctions, should the company keep invading the privacy of its own users, as well as others.

The Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) warned Facebook that it has three months before being fined with sums that can reach as much as $168,000.

“Facebook transfers personal data to the United States on the basis of Safe Harbour, although the Court of Justice of the European Union declared invalid such transfers in its ruling of October 6, 2015,” the French CNIL said in a statement.

The transatlantic Safe Harbour pact was ruled illegal last year amid concerns over mass U.S. government snooping, and EU data protection authorities said firms had three months to set up alternative legal arrangements for transferring data.

The so-called Safe Harbor arrangement allowed organisations based in the US to pull private data from servers in Europe and across the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, French authorities also claim that users who do not own Facebook accounts are also tracked by the social media company, via buttons spread throughout the Web – violating French privacy law.

CNIL demands that Facebook informs and asks for permission from those Internet users to have their data collected. The subject is sensitive due to the fact that Facebook gathers information regarding users’ religion, sexual orientation and other personal information.

In response, a Facebook representative says that the protection of its users is essential to the company.

“Protecting the privacy of the people who use Facebook is at the heart of everything we do,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “We look forward to engaging with the CNIL to respond to their concerns.”