Here's How Facebook and Google Dodge EU Data Rules
The tech companies have found ways to discourage users from signing on to new privacy protections.
It knows where you are, where you’ve been and where yo’re going.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
It’s becoming standard practice for U.S. tech giants to follow the letter of European rulings and regulations without really changing their behavior. Most recently, Facebook and Google have exhibited just a superficial compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to allow users to keep control of their data.
The government-funded Norwegian Consumer Council issued a report showing that the tech companies’ rely on “dark patterns” to discourage users from exercising their privacy rights. The designation refers to interfaces intended to trick users into doing something, usually subscribing to a service they don’t want or giving up data. Facebook and Google have used this strategy for some time, even as they superficially adhered to the European rules known as GDPR. The report by Norway’s agency for consumer protection details the tricks the companies use to create the illusion of compliance.