Facebook investigated in Germany over suspected data protection breaches
Facebook is being investigated in Germany over suspected data protection breaches.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office said it has opened an investigation into the US company on suspicion of using its market dominance to violate competition laws.
According to Reuters, the watchdog said it suspected Facebook’s terms of service, setting out how it makes use of users’ data, may abuse its dominance in the social networking market.
"There is an initial suspicion that Facebook's conditions of use are in violation of data protection provisions," the watchdog said in a statement.
Read more: Facebook Latin America executive arrested in Brazil
Federal Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt added: "For advertising-financed internet services such as Facebook, user data are hugely important.
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A Facebook spokeswoman said: “We are confident that we comply with the law and we look forward to working with the Federal Cartel Office to answer their questions.”
Yesterday, it emerged that Facebook's vice president in Latin America was arrested in Brazil in relation to WhatsApp.