Belgium court orders Facebook to stop tracking non-users
Facebook has been ordered to stop tracking people in Belgium who are not members of its social network or face fines of €250,000 a day.
A Belgium court ruled that the company had been taking personal data without the consent of users. The ruling was based on a cookie which is installed when an internet user visits a Facebook page even if they are not a member.
The cookie which Facebook installed would stay on a device for up to two years and gave it information on whenever the user visited any Facebook pages, or to any page where they could like or recommend via a Facebook link.
The Silicon Valley giant plans to contest the decision. A spokesperson for the company said "we've used the Datr cookie for more than five years to keep Facebook secure for 1.5 billion people around the world."
"We will appeal this decision and are working to minimise any disruption to people's access to Facebook in Belgium."
The court said in a statement that "this is personal data, which Facebook can only use if the internet user expressly gives their consent, as Belgian privacy law dictates".
The statement also warned that "if Facebook ignores this order it must pay a fine of €250,000 a day to the Belgian privacy commission.”
The Belgian court decision is the latest legal setback for Facebook in Europe. In October, the EU's top court ruled that the “safe harbour” deal allowing firms to transfer Europeans’ personal information to the United States was “invalid” because it did not properly protect the data from spy agencies.