Data Protection Commissioner to make Facebook privacy decision by October

The watchdog is monitoring whether the social media giant is following recommendations made in a recent audit.

THE DATA PROTECTION Commissioner will decide whether Facebook will face legal action under European privacy laws by this October.

Ireland’s data regulator is responsible for ensuring the social media giant complies with European and national data protection laws because Facebook has set up its non-US headquarters in Dublin.

A privacy audit has already been carried out on Facebook by the Commissioner – after which recommendations regarding the company’s policies on tagging photographs and retaining or deleting data were made. The watchdog is now monitoring whether its recommendations are being adhered to.

The Commissioner’s office said that a failure on Facebook’s behalf to comply obligation’s could result in” enforcement action”.

The Commissioner’s office has denied that it is ignoring ‘europe-v-facebook‘ – an Austrian group of students that had been working with the office, RTÉ reports.

The Data Protection Commissioner reported a record number of complaints last year, with 1,161 received in comparison to 783 in 2010.

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