Facebook clarified the selling of your private data

Facebook is going to adjust its terms of use worldwide. The network wants users to clearly explain how their data is used to sell targeted advertisements. “We will update our terms of use to be clearer about how Facebook makes money,” the company said.

The European Commission and national privacy watchdogs welcome the commitments of the American tech company. Last year, after the privacy scandal with Cambridge Analytica, Brussels demanded that Facebook become more transparent. EU Commissioner Vera Jourová (Consumer Rights) threatened with sanctions. She is pleased that measures are now being taken ‘finally’. Facebook will implement the changes “by the end of June”, says Jourová.

Use for commercial purposes

Facebook collects data from all over 2 billion users. Advertisers do not get that data, but they can let Facebook place targeted advertisements. For example, they can have ads placed in the timeline of women of 35 from The Hague who have liked the pages of toy stores. Facebook will clearly state in its conditions that user data is used for commercial purposes. It also describes more clearly how an account can be terminated.

Jourová points to the billions that Facebook earns with personal information and denounces the “legal jargon” that, according to her, the company hid so far. “Now it will be clear to users that their data is being used by the social network to sell targeted advertisements.”

Facebook has 380 million users in the EU countries, including around 10 million in the Netherlands.

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