Under a Data Use Policy (DUP) revised in 2015, Facebook allows itself to track users across websites and devices, to use profile pictures for commercial and non-commercial purposes and to collect user location information.
The report requested by the Belgian Privacy Commission, has found that Facebook in some cases does not provide meaningful choices regarding consent of users to the use of their personal information. Facebook is also reported to make the opt-out of such consent particularly problematic, and so does not comply with the European Parliament and Council directive on privacy and electronic communications.
The report is being prepared by a number of Belgian research centers from the University of Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
On Thursday, in light of National Security Administration and other global intelligence agency mass surveillance practices revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the European Commission said that if EU citizens want to keep information private from US intelligence, they should delete their Facebook accounts.
