Tech & Rights

Facebook's Privacy Settings Declared Illegal by German Court

Facebook’s default privacy settings and use of personal data violate German consumer law, a Berlin regional court has ruled. The court determined that Facebook collects and uses personal data without providing its...

by LibertiesEU
(Image: Franco Bouly)

Facebook’s default privacy settings and use of personal data violate German consumer law, a Berlin regional court has ruled. The court determined that Facebook collects and uses personal data without providing its users enough information to allow them to give meaningful consent. The suit was brought by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations, which argued that Facebook illegally forced users to opt-in to certain features. In total, the court found five default settings and a further eight clauses in the terms of service to be in violation of German law.

Donate to liberties

DONATE TO LIBERTIES

Your donation makes our team stronger, our campaigns louder, and our defense of your human & digital rights more impactful.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

  • 100+ EU-wide human & digital rights campaigns
  • 500+ rights defenders trained
  • 70,000+ monthly website visitors
  • Quotes in The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters & more


See our annual reports for more

Subscribe to stay in

the loop

Why should I?

You will get the latest reports before everyone else!

You can follow what we are doing for your right!

You will know about our achivements!

Show me a sample!