German Supreme Court: Facebook’s ‘friend seeking’ is illegal

Social networks should not just send invitation emails to non-members, the German Bundesgerichtshof, the highest court in the country, has ruled. The way Facebook did that with the friend finder was illegal. Facebook is investigating whether it should adjust its service.

It is inadmissible, incriminating advertising for non-members to receive mail from social networks to register without express permission. That was ruled by the Bundesgerichtshof on Thursday in a case about the Facebook functionality ‘find friends’. It does not matter whether the social network appears as the sender in the mails or the acquaintance of the recipient.

The case concerned the position as it existed in 2010 and the case has therefore been ongoing for six years. Facebook users could upload their contact list, after which the social network could use the data to invite people who were not already active on the site to register. Two lower courts already ruled in 2012 and 2014 that Facebook was breaking privacy rules and using illegal business practices.

The Bundesgerichtshof confirms these statements and points out that Facebook did not fully inform users about the handling of contact list data when registering. Facebook defended itself by stating that the emails were merely a ‘technical tool’ for members to build their own social network; it wouldn’t be about advertising.

Meanwhile, Facebook has slightly modified its friend finder. After importing, users can individually invite friends and the list can also be adjusted afterwards. According to Der Spiegel, the company is still investigating the impact of the ruling on the current implementation of the service. The verdict extends beyond Facebook: other social services that send similar invitation emails may also be in violation of German law.