German competition authority does not rule out ban on Facebook’s data collectionverzameling

The German competition watchdog, the Bundeskartellamt, has said through its chairman Andreas Mundt that a ban on the collection of user data from ‘third sources’ is one of the possible outcomes of an investigation launched last year.

This concerns data about the internet traffic of users when, for example, they visit other websites and use the like button. This form of data collection is an important way for Facebook to sell targeted advertisements on its platform, but this could come to an end in Germany.

Mundt says this form of data collection may be banned, because he believes it could be anti-competitive, he told the Financial Times. Instead of a ban, the Bundeskartellamt can also take other, less severe measures. For example, Facebook can also propose changes, according to the newspaper.

The chairman said that the relationship between data collection and Facebook’s market dominance, and the relationship between market power and the collected data, are being closely examined. According to the Bundeskartellamt, Facebook may be misusing the data collection.

Last December, on the basis of an ongoing investigation, the watchdog concluded in a preliminary conclusion that Facebook is acting unlawfully by collecting data from ‘third sources’ such as WhatsApp and Instagram. Facebook is also able to collect data on other sites via the like button. Because Facebook has made its service dependent on this, according to Mundt, it may be abusing its dominant position.

It is not clear when the German authorities will make a final decision on whether or not to impose a ban; a decision is not expected before the summer of 2018. By then, the study that was started in March last year will probably have been completed and the results are expected. This investigation focuses on whether Facebook has violated competition and privacy rules. Facebook already responded to the preliminary conclusion in December last year; the company said it paints a false picture and that the social network, while popular in Germany, is not dominant.