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Facebook Accused of Conducting Mass Surveillance Through Its Apps (theguardian.com)
A court case in California alleges that Facebook used its apps to gather information about users and their friends, including some who had not signed up to the social network, reading their text messages, tracking their locations and accessing photos on their phones. The Guardian reports: The claims of what would amount to mass surveillance are part of a lawsuit brought against the company by the former startup Six4Three, listed in legal documents filed at the superior court in San Mateo as part of a court case that has been ongoing for more than two years. The allegations about surveillance appear in a January filing, the fifth amended complaint made by Six4Three. It alleges that Facebook used a range of methods, some adapted to the different phones that users carried, to collect information it could use for commercial purposes.
"Facebook continued to explore and implement ways to track users' location, to track and read their texts, to access and record their microphones on their phones, to track and monitor their usage of competitive apps on their phones, and to track and monitor their calls," one court document says. But all details about the mass surveillance scheme have been redacted on Facebook's request in Six4Three's most recent filings. Facebook claims these are confidential business matters. It has until next Tuesday to submit a claim to the court for the documents to remain sealed from public view.
"Facebook continued to explore and implement ways to track users' location, to track and read their texts, to access and record their microphones on their phones, to track and monitor their usage of competitive apps on their phones, and to track and monitor their calls," one court document says. But all details about the mass surveillance scheme have been redacted on Facebook's request in Six4Three's most recent filings. Facebook claims these are confidential business matters. It has until next Tuesday to submit a claim to the court for the documents to remain sealed from public view.
You're so wrong in so many ways:
- the new privacy law is nothing more than a harmonisation of different existing laws already in effect since 1996 and subsecutive modifications (the european guideline law was from 24. october 1995)
- in 1995 there was no Google, facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp.
- till today the european laws were applicable only to european individuals and companies
- you cannot compete, if your competitor does not respect the same rules
- the big data collectors are all outside the EU, so they had to be included too in this new law, as soon as they do business with EU-citizens
Let's talk about the effects of this new law in a few years - I'm sure he US will follow too.