Skip to main content

Facebook makes privacy concessions in Germany

Facebook ID
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Social networking service Facebook has reached an agreement with German data protection officials that will give German Facebook users more control over how information in their address books is used by the service—including an ability to opt out of having Facebook send unsolicited invitations to join Facebook via its Friend Finder service. Under the agreement, German Facebook users will be able to stop Facebook from contacting people on their behalf—and that includes reaching out to addresses culled from users’ email address books.

Data protection officials in Germany have repeatedly noted that they have received many complaints from Germans who aren’t members of Facebook but who are receiving solicitations to join Facebook because their email addresses had been picked up from the address books of friends, acquaintances, and others who had decided to sign up for Facebook. Last year, German officials initially requested that Facebook de-activate its Friend Finder service, and Germany’s consumer protection minister politicized the issue a bit by claiming Facebook was disregarding Germany privacy laws.

German authorities say they will keep their investigation of Facebook privacy practices open on this matter until the can determine whether Facebook’s agreed-upon changes eliminate complaints.

Users of Facebook and Friend Finder in other countries will not be able to opt out of having Facebook sent solicitations to their email contacts.

The agreement makes Facebook the second major Internet company to modify its operations in response to German privacy regulations. The first was Google, which now enables Germans to have photos of their home excluded from Street View.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Why I gave up selling tech on Facebook Marketplace
Lenovo Legion Tower 7i gaming PC sitting on a table.

I moved to a new house a few weeks ago, and as part of the preparations I decided to sell a few old bits of tech that had been lying around unloved and unused in my old apartment. There was a MacBook Pro from 2015 and a gaming PC I built the year after, and the logical place to cash in on them seemed to be Facebook Marketplace. Big mistake.

Have you ever tried selling tech on Facebook Marketplace? Maybe an old forgotten phone, or a pair of underused headphones? If so, you might have had the same awful experience I did. If not, I’m advising you to stay well away.

Read more
Facebook might get chatbots — and that could be a problem
The Facebook app icon on an iPhone home screen, with other app icons surrounding it.

Facebook owner Meta is planning to introduce chatbots with distinct personalities to its social media app. The launch could come as soon as this September and would be a challenge to rivals like ChatGPT, but there are concerns that there could be serious implications for users’ privacy.

The idea comes from the Financial Times, which reports that the move is an attempt to boost engagement with Facebook users. The new tool could do this by providing fresh search capabilities or recommending content, all through humanlike discussions.

Read more
DuckDuckGo’s Windows browser is here to protect your privacy
The Duck Player feature of DuckDuckGo's Windows web browser, showing a video being played.

A few months ago, DuckDuckGo launched a privacy-focused browser on macOS. Well, Windows users no longer have to miss out, as the browser has found its way onto Microsoft’s operating system. If you want a web browsing experience that protects your privacy, it could be a good time to check it out.

The browser is available as a public beta, according to a blog post from DuckDuckGo. It comes with a bunch of built-in privacy protections that could be ideal if you’re tired of trackers and cookies snooping on your internet sessions.

Read more