EU Seeks Full Facebook Audit

Members of the European Parliament have passed a resolution demanding Facebook submit to a full audit to decide whether it adequately protects personal data.

Passed last Thursday , the resolution recommends the social network makes changes additional to those it has already agreed, to counter election interference and suggests that in its failures so far it has broken not just users' trust but also EU law.

The proposals include the application of conventional 'off-line' electoral safeguards, including spending transparency and limits, silence periods and equal treatment of candidates; tagging of paid political ads; the banning of profiling for electoral purposes; faster removal of fake accounts; and working with independent fact-checkers and academia to tackle disinformation.

EU civil liberties committee Chair Claude Moraes said in a statement: 'This is a global issue, which has already affected our referenda and our elections. This resolution sets out the measures that are needed, including an independent audit of Facebook, an update to our competition rules, and additional measures to protect our elections. Action must be taken now, not just to restore trust in online platforms, but to protect citizens' privacy and restore trust and confidence in our democratic systems' (sic).

In the UK, Facebook has as expected today been fined £500k over the Cambridge Analytica breach earlier this year - this is the maximum penalty possible under Britain's old data protection law, the breach having occurred before the start of GDPR.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.