Belgian researchers found that Facebook was able to monitor the activity of users on the Internet, even when not connected to the social network.
The US company have started difficult week in Europe. Since the preliminary hearings will begin in the trial of the Facebook , in Vienna, submitted by 25,000 Internet users, and also the social network will have to defend themselves in the face of accusations made on the basis of recent discoveries made by researchers at Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
Commissioned by the Commission for the protection of privacy, the study analyzes the behavior of "cookies" from Facebook. A cookie is a small file stored on the computer of the user who remembers his activity and preferences on a site to facilitate navigation.
According to the researchers, the cookies from Facebook follow users anywhere on the Internet, including when they are disconnected if the social network. Even disabling Facebook account, cookies are continued. Interest in the company is to improve its knowledge of its users to offer them targeted advertising.
In theory it is possible to get rid of these cookies. The site "Your Online Choices", an initiative of a consortium of European actors in online advertising (including Facebook), controls its cookies and disable all those you do not want.
Facebook ensures respect European law
Except that the researchers, Facebook has also placed a cookie on this site. This is the toughest of them, as it can follow you for two years, even if you have never used Facebook. The result is ironic: Internet users who visit this site to free dozens of cookies stored on their computers leave for two years tracing. This cookie mainly concern European users, researchers did not find a similar file on the US and Canadian versions of the site.
These practices, as well as other elements of the personal data of Facebook policy, are contrary to European law, according to Belgian university. What Facebook defends itself in a statement that responds point by point to the researchers.
The social network gives them right on one point: "The researchers did find a bug that could have sent cookies to some people when they were not on Facebook. It was not our intention. We are trying to solve this problem. "However, Facebook will remain silent on the presence of a cookie on the European site" Your Online Choices ".
The US company have started difficult week in Europe. Since the preliminary hearings will begin in the trial of the Facebook , in Vienna, submitted by 25,000 Internet users, and also the social network will have to defend themselves in the face of accusations made on the basis of recent discoveries made by researchers at Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
Commissioned by the Commission for the protection of privacy, the study analyzes the behavior of "cookies" from Facebook. A cookie is a small file stored on the computer of the user who remembers his activity and preferences on a site to facilitate navigation.
According to the researchers, the cookies from Facebook follow users anywhere on the Internet, including when they are disconnected if the social network. Even disabling Facebook account, cookies are continued. Interest in the company is to improve its knowledge of its users to offer them targeted advertising.
In theory it is possible to get rid of these cookies. The site "Your Online Choices", an initiative of a consortium of European actors in online advertising (including Facebook), controls its cookies and disable all those you do not want.
Facebook ensures respect European law
Except that the researchers, Facebook has also placed a cookie on this site. This is the toughest of them, as it can follow you for two years, even if you have never used Facebook. The result is ironic: Internet users who visit this site to free dozens of cookies stored on their computers leave for two years tracing. This cookie mainly concern European users, researchers did not find a similar file on the US and Canadian versions of the site.
These practices, as well as other elements of the personal data of Facebook policy, are contrary to European law, according to Belgian university. What Facebook defends itself in a statement that responds point by point to the researchers.
The social network gives them right on one point: "The researchers did find a bug that could have sent cookies to some people when they were not on Facebook. It was not our intention. We are trying to solve this problem. "However, Facebook will remain silent on the presence of a cookie on the European site" Your Online Choices ".
I founded the Blog DepoTech in January 2015. Self-taught in development, I have always pushed my curiosity about the topics,Web and Tech news.
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