French Gov't Gives Facebook 3 Months To Stop Tracking Non-User Browsers

Reader iamthecheese writes RT reports that France's National Commission of Information and Freedoms found Facebook tracking of non-user browsers to be illegal. Facebook has three months to stop doing it. The ruling points to violations of members and non-members privacy in violation of an earlier ruling. The guidance, published last October, invalidates safe harbor provisions. If Facebook fails to comply the French authority will appoint someone to decide upon a sanction. Related: A copy of the TPP leaked last year no longer requires signing countries to have a safe harbor provision.

Comments

Re:Works for me

[gstoddart]

Well, too bad you've not taken ownership of your own privacy and blocked them.

France is saying "no, you can't track people who don't even know they're being tracked and aren't visiting your web site". Until the country you lives in passes privacy laws .. you've got to do it on your own. Sadly, most normal internet users have been tracked by these parasites who feel it's their right to do so.

The amount of websites which have Facebook, Twitter, or any of dozens of other sites which track you even if you don't visit them is mind boggling.

So when those companies say "boo hoo, stop blocking out ads", you need to say "fuck you, I don't consent to being tracked by 15 3rd parties" and use your own blockers.

Most other governments are too much on the fucking payroll to limit what companies can do. The US sure as hell will never to do, the US is pretty much the international champion of the rights of corporations to be douchebags. If your government isn't going to force them to stop tracking you, then you really need to do it yourself.

And, honestly, even if your government tries, you need to do it yourself.

I applaud trying to block this, but the scale on which this shit happens is beyond understanding to anybody who isn't in full possession of their own tinfoil hat.

My primary browser? It can't even see facebook.com. If you're not actively defending yourself from this shit, you're already being tracked, whether you know it or not.