Facebook Told to Stop Tracking German Users’ Online Life Without Consent
Data collected from third-party apps and websites can no longer be assigned to German users’ accounts without their agreement
Facebook’s revenue rose, year on year, 30% in the fourth quarter. WSJ’s Jason Bellini explains why the social network is beating analyst expectations and posting profits amidst all the bad press. Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann
Germany ordered Facebook to stop combining data it collects about users’ activities across the internet without their consent, a novel application of competition law that strikes at a cornerstone of the social-media giant’s business model.
In a decision issued Thursday, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, the country’s top antitrust enforcer, said that Facebook has abused its dominance as a social network by requiring people to allow it to collect information about their wider internet usage as a condition of usage.
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