Facebook is preparing a version of the European data protection law for the internet that would extend only some guarantees to a global level, said Mark Zuckerberg, head of the American social network, in an interview with Reuters.
Facebook is trying to recover from the fallout of the scandal that erupted after it was revealed that the British company Cambridge Analytica collected personal data from tens of millions of its users for political campaign purposes.
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Since the scandal broke in mid-March, the social network’s shares have fallen by more than 15 percent, and a new law in the European Union will come into effect in May that is expected to guarantee better protection of personal data on the internet.
Explicit consent for data usage
The law represents the largest amendment to the data protection mechanism since the advent of the internet and will ensure that Europeans have the right to be informed about which of their data is being stored online and to request its deletion, Reuters adds.
Users will be able to transfer their data to other social networks, and companies will also have to clarify how they plan to use it and will be required to seek explicit consent for its use.
The new regulation is likely to reduce Facebook’s profits as it could decrease the value of ads since the company will not be allowed to use personal data without restrictions as before. It will also increase their costs as they will need to hire legal experts to ensure compliance with the new standards.
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In a phone conversation with Reuters, Zuckerberg said he agrees “in spirit” with the new European regulation, adding that his company is working on a version that would extend certain European guarantees to a global level.
He did not want to answer the question of which guarantees they are not ready to adopt at a global level.
– We are still working on the details, but in direction, in spirit, it should be the whole story, said Zuckerberg.
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He did not want to go into details. His statement signals that Facebook users in the U.S. may fare worse than those in Europe, notes Reuters.
The same measures for other tech giants
A group of tech companies, including Apple, has stated that they will provide U.S. citizens and those in other countries with the same data protection measures and rights that Europeans will receive.
Zuckerberg, on the other hand, claims that many tools in the European law, such as the right to data deletion, are already available to Facebook users.
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– We have been offering the vast majority of what is requested here to everyone in the world for years, said the head of Facebook in an interview with Reuters.
Google and Facebook generate the highest revenues in the world from online advertising. Both companies are headquartered in the U.S. state of California and possess vast amounts of data on billions of users. Google did not want to comment on its plans.
