Facebook ordered to pay 30\,000 euros in France over \'abusive\' usage terms

Facebook ordered to pay 30,000 euros in France over 'abusive' usage terms

AFP  |  Paris 

A has ordered to pay 30,000 euros (USD 34,000) over "abusive" terms-of-use agreements that people had to accept in order to access their accounts, the group which filed the lawsuit said Wednesday.

The ruling came as France's protection agency said it and the had secured Facebook's agreement to "significantly modify its terms of use" by the end of June.

They will include "clear language" spelling out that makes money by allowing targeted advertising based on the contents of a user's profile, the DGCCRF agency said.

The UFC-Que Choisir group filed its case in 2014, saying 430 clauses in Facebook's user agreement were abusive, including keeping and selling data indefinitely, even after an account is closed, and changing the terms of use without informing people.

A said the case involved terms of use that have since been modified.

"Guaranteeing the transparency of our tools and services, and providing clear information to our users, is essential for Facebook," he said.

The ruling follows similar 30,000 euro fines against announced last month, and in August. Both were lodged by UFC-Que Choisir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, April 10 2019. 23:20 IST