Facebook has landed some trouble with the Belgian privacy commission for tracking its users’ browsing habits and those that don’t even use the social network. Stories have been circling around about people whose faces Facebook recognizes despite the fact that they are not members of Facebook, and Belgian courts have ruled this as an invasion of privacy.
Removing tracking, according to Facebook, will reduce the security of all users.
The Source of the Problem is ‘Facebook Data Policy’
The reason why Belgium has taken Facebook to court is because of a cookie, a test file that tracks user activity. The datr cookie can be viewed on browsers when they search for terms such as ‘facebook data policy’, but other websites will not notify the use of the cookie.
Facebook claims it uses the cookie for security reasons mainly, but Belgium finds it an infringement of privacy and has demanded Facebook remove the tool, or they will be fined 250,000 euros for every day that passes and they have not removed it. The cards are well into their favor, since current Facebook data policy breaches EU law, and after Facebook refused to settle agreements, things have made it to court.
Facebook’s Response
Alex Stamos, head of security at Facebook, revealed that revealing the cookie would mean that it would handle every Belgian login as an untrusted one and that amendments will make it more difficult for Belgian users to make use of the website.
The datr cookie, he explains, is used to prevent the creation of fake accounts, reduce the risk of users’ accounts being taken over by others, protect the users’ content against theft and prevent the distributed denial of service attacks. If the court ends up blocking the datr cookie, it will limit Facebook’s assurance that users are going into the website legitimately.
The cookie, he added, is also not associated with Facebook users but with user browsers. Altercations continue as neither side refuses to yield.
Facebook Pursues Innocent Belgian People!
