 "As Facebook sweeps across Europe, regulators gird for battle")
One arm of the European Union is looking into whether Facebook and other tech companies unfairly favour their own services over those of rivals. At least five data protection watchdogs across the region are questioning Facebook's privacy settings.
And in a case that could have broad implications for many tech companies, the region's top court will issue a preliminary decision next month on whether Facebook can continue transferring user data between Europe and the United States.
Move over, Google. Facebook is the latest American tech giant that Europeans love to hate.
For decades, European policy makers have taken aim at America's giant tech businesses, trying to force them to play by European rules. In the past, Microsoft and Intel were found guilty of abusing their dominant positions to shut out rivals. Google has most recently been under the microscope, and it now faces accusations that it unfairly promoted some of its search products over those of competitors.
In recent months, though, regulators' gazes have turned to Facebook, raising questions about whether the social network has learned from the past mistakes of companies like Intel, Microsoft and Google when dealing with Europe's policy makers and its legal system. And as Facebook runs into an increasing number of regulatory hurdles here, the scrutiny could potentially distract the company from its ambitions of becoming a one-stop shop for Internet messaging, online publishing and digital advertising.
"Platforms like Facebook have grown quickly to become global forces," said Serafino Abate, a director at the Center on Regulation in Europe, a research organisation in Brussels. "But with that size comes responsibility."
The scrutiny is mounting as the company's messaging and digital advertising services spread globally. More than 1.4 billion people now use Facebook, and hundreds of millions of people also rely on the company's mobile messaging services, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and its photo-sharing service, Instagram.
Facebook's core business, its social networking service, is especially popular in Europe. The company has almost doubled its number of European users to the service, to around 260 million, since 2010. Facebook also has more users in Europe than in the US, according to eMarketer, a research company.
Regulators in Europe, however, are especially focused on how the company collects and handles those users' data. The region has some of the world's toughest data protection rules, and policy makers from France, Germany and Belgium are investigating whether Facebook broke Europe's laws after the company announced a new privacy policy this year.
If found to have breached the privacy rules, Facebook may face fines or demands that it change how the company handles people's data, though the company says it complies with the region's data protection laws.
And in a case that could have broad implications for many tech companies, the region's top court will issue a preliminary decision next month on whether Facebook can continue transferring user data between Europe and the United States.
Move over, Google. Facebook is the latest American tech giant that Europeans love to hate.
For decades, European policy makers have taken aim at America's giant tech businesses, trying to force them to play by European rules. In the past, Microsoft and Intel were found guilty of abusing their dominant positions to shut out rivals. Google has most recently been under the microscope, and it now faces accusations that it unfairly promoted some of its search products over those of competitors.
In recent months, though, regulators' gazes have turned to Facebook, raising questions about whether the social network has learned from the past mistakes of companies like Intel, Microsoft and Google when dealing with Europe's policy makers and its legal system. And as Facebook runs into an increasing number of regulatory hurdles here, the scrutiny could potentially distract the company from its ambitions of becoming a one-stop shop for Internet messaging, online publishing and digital advertising.
"Platforms like Facebook have grown quickly to become global forces," said Serafino Abate, a director at the Center on Regulation in Europe, a research organisation in Brussels. "But with that size comes responsibility."
The scrutiny is mounting as the company's messaging and digital advertising services spread globally. More than 1.4 billion people now use Facebook, and hundreds of millions of people also rely on the company's mobile messaging services, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and its photo-sharing service, Instagram.
Facebook's core business, its social networking service, is especially popular in Europe. The company has almost doubled its number of European users to the service, to around 260 million, since 2010. Facebook also has more users in Europe than in the US, according to eMarketer, a research company.
Regulators in Europe, however, are especially focused on how the company collects and handles those users' data. The region has some of the world's toughest data protection rules, and policy makers from France, Germany and Belgium are investigating whether Facebook broke Europe's laws after the company announced a new privacy policy this year.
If found to have breached the privacy rules, Facebook may face fines or demands that it change how the company handles people's data, though the company says it complies with the region's data protection laws.
©2015 The New York Times News Service