The top data protection authority of the European Union is to take at the request of the British data protection company Facebook for the handling with the user data under the magnifying glass. The UK Data Protection Supervisor today filed the case with the Ireland-based agency. At the center of the investigation were fake political ads.
In addition, light should be brought into the market for user data. Triggers of the investigations was the data scandal around the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The consultants working for Donald Trump during the US Presidential campaign in 2016 had received data from 87 million Facebook users.
Further points noticed
In the course of these investigations, further points were noticed, which now need to be examined by the EU supervision. Facebook and the Irish authorities were initially unable to reach an opinion.
The broadcaster BBC had reported in October about fake political ads in the social network. Facebook had previously stated that the clients of political advertisements would have to submit their identity and also had to inform about who pays for the spot.
„Citizens can only be informed about who they vote for if they are sure that the decision has not been influenced,“ said British Data Protection Commissioner Elizabeth Denham. „We’ve discovered a frightening contempt for voter privacy.“
