– Facebook, TikTok and Co. violate EU law
According to a study by the Consumer Initiative (vzbv), six major tech giants are violating EU law. Meta, the company behind Facebook, Alphabet by Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and the operator of TikTok, ByteDance, are manipulating users through deceptive designs, as the Süddeutsche Zeitung (Monday edition) reports from the investigation.
The companies’ goal is to obtain users’ consent for the most comprehensive data collection possible. The chairwoman of the vzbv, Ramona Pop, announced that the results would be forwarded to the EU and called for strict enforcement of the Digital Markets Act. Since March 7, 2024, this practice has been prohibited under European law. “We are not afraid to issue warnings to the companies,” said Pop.
US companies cheat on data protection
Because the tech giants are “deceiving” users, as Pop told the newspaper. “For example, TikTok suggests that if you do not consent to this service, we can no longer provide you with a free service.” Amazon tries to obtain consent for data collection directly through the cookie settings.
“And the Facebook Marketplace cannot be fully used without first transmitting your data to Facebook.” The tech giants, known as “gatekeepers,” have a major influence on what people in Germany consume digitally.
Other companies like Amazon also use deceptive tactics to obtain user consent for data collection. This practice of manipulating users to consent to extensive data collection is not limited to the six tech giants mentioned above.
