Facebook Determined to Appeal Belgian Tracking Ban

Facebook has decided to fight the tough EU data protection laws after a 2018 Belgian court order forbade Facebook”s use of the cookies, social plug-ins and interaction buttons it used to track online activity of users and non-users on third-party websites without their knowledge, Bloomberg writes.

The tech company has already been criticized by the EU for its political advertising strategy and failure to properly inform users about its data collection and tracking practices. It is now committed to taking the Belgian data protection authority to appeals court for a two-day hearing.

Meanwhile, the Belgian privacy watchdog claims the social network “still violates the fundamental rights of millions of residents of Belgium.” Failure to comply with the court order could add another 250,000 EUR ($281,625) to the fine per day.

 “Facebook then uses that information to profile your surfing behavior and uses that profile to show you targeted advertising, such as advertising about products and services from commercial companies, messages from political parties etc,” reads an email from the Belgian regulator.

According to the BBC, the court ordered Facebook to delete all data illegally obtained from Belgian citizens following the infringement of EU privacy laws.

In a statement, the company said it has “made a number of changes to help people understand how our tools work and explain the choices they have, including through our privacy updates.”

Facebook claims to be aware that people want to be more informed about its tracking technology and in control of their personal data. Considering Facebook”s long-running conflicts, fighting the tracking ban is tough to pull off while maintaining user trust.

“We understand that people want more information and control over the data Facebook receives from other websites and apps that use our services,” Facebook said.

“That”s why we are developing Clear History, that will let you to see the websites and apps that send us information when you use them, disconnect this information from your account, and turn off our ability to store it associated with your account going forward. We have also made a number of changes to help people understand how our tools work and explain the choices they have, including through our GDPR privacy updates.”