Facebook's Model Attacked by German Antitrust Regulator
- First probe that combined privacy with competition enforcement
- German cartel office issues findings of probe started in 2016
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Facebook Inc.’s advertising model came under attack in a landmark ruling from German antitrust regulators who ordered the social network to overhaul how it tracks its users’ internet browsing and smartphone apps.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office gave the company 12 months to stop “unrestrictedly collecting and using” data and combining it with users’ Facebook accounts without their consent. Facebook said it was being unfairly singled out by the regulator, which has broken new ground by using antitrust law to tackle data privacy.