Facebook in Breech of More EU Privacy Laws

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By Jacob Maslow

Facebook has dealt with its fair share of controversy recently.

From being denied a free basics internet service in India to being accused of violating tax laws by some nations, Facebook (NASDAQ : FB) has now drawn the ire of the French data protection agency, the CNIL, which has ordered it to stop tracking users without permission, or face an investigation and possible courses of action.

The social media giant has been given three months to comply with changes outlined by CNIL.

While there were multiple concerns raised by CNIL, the main concern centres around Facebook collecting browsing activity and data of users who do not even have Facebook accounts.

CNIL claimed that Facebook places a cookie on users computers without any warning when they visit a public Facebook page, regardless of whether they have an account or not. This cookie collects browsing data, but also collects personal information on users including sexual orientation, political, and religious views.

The move is the second by France in several weeks against the current policies of tech giants like Facebook. The French tax authority recently vowed to make Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) pay full back taxes at a much steeper rate than their neighbours in the UK.

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