Facebook Risks EU-Wide Privacy Fights After Setback at Top Court
- EU court aide gives non-binding opinion in ‘Fanpage’ case
- German watchdog can regulate local data processing, aide says
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Facebook Inc. could be in the firing line of data privacy regulators across the European Union if the bloc’s top court follows the opinion of an adviser who said the social media giant may be policed by authorities in the country where users are based.
Yves Bot, an advocate general of the EU Court of Justice, said Tuesday that national watchdogs spread across the 28-nation bloc could in some cases have power to take direct action against Facebook when they suspect illegal data processing has taken place -- even though its EU base is in Ireland.