Tags
A German court has fined Facebook 100,000 euros ($109,000) for refusing to follow an order to adequately inform users about how it was using their intellectual property, a consumer group said on Monday.
News of the ruling followed a visit last week by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in which he mounted a charm offensive in the face of increasing antipathy in Germany towards the world's biggest social media network prompted by fears for data protection.
The Berlin regional court ruled that Facebook had not adequately changed the wording of a clause on intellectual property in its terms and conditions after a complaint was filed by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV).
‘Facebook is persistently trying to evade consumer laws in Germany and Europe,’ VZBV head Klaus Mueller said in a statement. ‘Companies must implement judicial decisions and can't simply sit them out.’
A spokeswoman for the Berlin court confirmed the ruling.
A German court originally ruled in March 2012 that Facebook's terms and conditions did not make clear the extent to which users' intellectual property - such as photos and videos - could be used by Facebook and licensed to third parties.
The Berlin court concluded that while Facebook had changed the wording of the clause, the key message remained identical to the previous version.
‘We complied with the order to clarify a single provision in our terms concerning an IP license a while ago. The court felt we did not update our terms quickly enough and has issued a fine, which we will pay,’ a Facebook spokesperson said.
Facebook faces concerns over a perceived cavalier approach to the privacy of users in Germany, a country reunited after the Cold War in 1990 where memories of espionage were stirred anew by Edward Snowden's 2013 revelations of prying by the state.
During his visit last week, Zuckerberg said he had learned from Germany to include migrants as a class of people that needed to be protected from ‘hate speech’ online.
There are no comments.
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.