EU imposes sanctions on Facebook if it fails to comply with consumer rules this year

The European Commission, through Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, has announced that Facebook can face sanctions if the company does not comply with consumer protection rules before the end of 2018.

Jourova said in a press statement that her patience is running out, Reuters reports. She states that talks have been going on with Facebook for two years about making changes to make it clear to consumers how Facebook uses personal data and how it collaborates with third parties and apps.

Facebook must make it completely clear from the European Commissioner how it operates and how money is earned. If the necessary changes are not implemented before the end of 2018, Jourova will call on the national consumer authorities of the EU Member States to quickly impose sanctions.

In February, Jourova already established that the changes made up to that point in the conditions of, for example, Facebook and Twitter were still insufficient to comply with the consumer legislation of the European Union. For example, according to her, they fell short in terms of liability and the way in which they inform users about the removal of content they have posted or the termination of their contract.

Jourova also announced that Airbnb has made some changes to its terms and conditions and the way prices are displayed. Airbnb will now show the total price of a booking, including additional costs such as those for service and cleaning services. If it is not possible to calculate and display the total price, Airbnb has committed to clearly inform consumers that additional costs may be added to the booking price.