Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Max Schrems sits with files about his activities on his Facebook account that Facebook handed over to him last year. Ronald Zak/AP/Press Association Images

Student plans Irish legal action over Facebook's privacy policy

Max Schrems and his group, ‘Europe v Facebook’, is preparing legal action against the Irish Data Protection Commissioner over its recent audit of Facebook and its privacy policy.

THE AUSTRIAN STUDENT who is the public face of an ongoing dispute with Facebook over its compliance with privacy laws says that an audit by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner is welcome, but doesn’t go far enough.

Max Schrems, of the ‘Europe v Facebook’ group, is in Dublin this week where he is stepping up efforts to take legal action against the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).

Schrems says that the DPC’s recent audit of Facebook was not sufficient to deal with complaints his group has levelled against the social network’s compliance with European data protection principles and Irish law.

Facebook insists that it complies with the law and points out that two reports published by the Irish DPC show this. The DPC declined to answer specific queries, citing Europe v Facebook’s intention to challenge it in the courts.

Schrems, 25, is one of about 10 students involved with the Austrian-based group which has been questioning Facebook’s privacy policy for the past two years, leading to the recent audit by the DPC.

He told TheJournal.ie this week:

I think the audit was a good step in the right direction. There are things like the photo retention period, giving people more access to data than they had before, or the whole facial recognition thing which was for sure good.

But it’s still very short of the European law. I see that the DPC was trying [but] they are just overwhelmed by the situation. It’s a teeny, tiny, small authority… I think that was just too much for them to take in the end.

No contact

The DPC did not respond to specific queries from TheJournal.ie about its staff and resources. It referred to a statement it issued last week in which it said that it had not received contact from ‘Europe v Facebook’ about its grievances with the audit.

“We have consistently and repeatedly outlined to it (‘Europe v Facebook’) our happiness to take forward formal decisions of the Commissioner in relation to the complaints submitted in whatever time-scale is acceptable to it,” a spokesperson said last week.

“We have not received any contact from it in this respect but would assume based on the press release that we will shortly receive such contact which will allow us to commence the process.”

Schrems says he has tried to contact the DPC to arrange meetings while he is in Dublin this week but they have not responded to these requests.

Following the audit, Facebook Ireland, which is the official service provider for all Facebook users outside of the United States and Canada, agreed to a number of changes, including shortening the amount of time it retains deleted data and its automatic facial recognition software.

But ‘Europe v Facebook’ is not happy that Facebook has complied with a request to make data it holds about users available to those users. Facebook insists it “complies with European data protection principles and Irish law”.

Schrems described his own protracted battle with the company to get his personal data in 2010. He said that it took 22 emails for him to get 1,300 pages of data that Facebook held about him and even then he was concerned by what was in this information.

Information requests

“In these 1,300 pages you find like all deleted data they gathered from other people about you, data they generated themselves about you, like GPS locations of where you have likely been,” he said.

“I never used any GPS tracking, I never checked into Facebook or anything like that so there was a lot of stuff like that.”

Schrems said that after his case started to get public attention, Facebook received personal information access requests from some 40,000 users and that by law the company should have complied with these requests within 40 days.

But, he says, the Irish DPC gave the social networking giant a year.

He said: “Under the law they would have to deliver these requests in 40 days and now the DPC gave them one year to put in some kind of self-service downloads tool which is totally contrary to law because they have to give it up in 40 days.”

Schrems said that Facebook’s tool allowing users to download their data is not sufficient and claims that when he downloaded his own personal data set it did not contain information from his activity log from before 2010.

Facebook insists that it is not making it difficult for people to access their data and points out that anyone can use the ‘download your information’ tool within their account settings to get a copy of their data.

A spokesperson for Facebook said:

The way Facebook Ireland handles European personal data has been subject to thorough review by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner over the past year.The two detailed reports that the DPC has produced by the DPC demonstrate that Facebook Ireland complies with European data protection principles and Irish law. Nonetheless we have some vocal critics who will never be happy whatever we do and whatever the DPC concludes.

Legal action

Dissatisfied with the quality of the DPC audit, ‘Europe v Facebook’ is looking into taking legal action against the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, and by extension, Facebook, in relation to its compliance with data protection laws.

He says that the legal advice he has received in Ireland has been positive towards the case. Already a crowd-funding model on their ‘Europe v Facebook’ website has raised over €25,000 with the group estimating it will need hundreds of thousands of euro to take a case.

He said: “It’s not good enough to say ‘We did something and we moved it somewhere in the right direction’ if we have like fundamental human rights in the European Union that, to my understanding, they [the DPC] have to enforce fully and not halfway.”

The DPC told TheJournal.ie: “We have no further comment to make on the matters you have outlined as Europe v Facebook has chosen to engage in a legal process with our Office with a publicly stated intention to challenge our Office through the courts.”

Despite his ongoing battle with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner and Facebook, Schrems said that he is not concerned about Facebook’s security.

He said he just wants to be sure that the company is compliant with European data protection law and for this to be enforced by the DPC.

“I am still on Facebook because to me data protection is not about being against new technology, it’s about having trust in new technology,” he said.

Read: Privacy group says it may bring Facebook to Irish court

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
34 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute thomas patrick
    Favourite thomas patrick
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:24 PM

    Say what you like about the government, but my opinion is that they have done a great job of keeping what is probably an anadequate ICU system from coming under too much pressure.

    478
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute michal heba
    Favourite michal heba
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:25 PM

    @thomas patrick: well, they did what the rest of the world did. Copy paste style of a job. No big achievement in that, people of Ireland did great job

    220
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peter McGlynn
    Favourite Peter McGlynn
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:30 PM

    @thomas patrick: given their handling of health portfolio over 8 years they’ve had to be cautious.

    93
    See 15 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute thomas patrick
    Favourite thomas patrick
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:37 PM

    @michal heba: oh yeah? So why did they have to close car parks and walkways after a few weeks?
    The people of ireland were doing a great job of ignoring social distancing guidelines until they were strictly policed.

    74
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute thomas patrick
    Favourite thomas patrick
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:39 PM

    @Peter McGlynn: agreed…. but in this instance I think the results have been as positive as we could have hoped for as a people. And that’s not to disrespect people who lost loved ones.. but it could have been a lot worse

    27
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute michal heba
    Favourite michal heba
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:52 PM

    @thomas patrick: there is always some element of no cooperation… But in general its people and front staff did all the work. Politicians are still free to travel in government fleet etc.

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Pád
    Favourite Pád
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:00 PM

    @thomas patrick:
    Don’t think the government done that. More likely it was the medical profession.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute thomas patrick
    Favourite thomas patrick
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:21 PM

    @Pád: yep . The medical profession provided the advice and the government acted. Not like Mr. Orange across the water.
    I’m only trying to inject a little bit of positivity in a place where it’s easy to bash people. Do any of us think we’d do a better job? Or even put ourselves forward for the job in the first place? I dont think so.
    And yes, absolute credit to the heroes on the front line more than anyone else

    44
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Derek Poutch
    Favourite Derek Poutch
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:29 PM

    @thomas patrick: Could of been a lot better too.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Toon Army
    Favourite Toon Army
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 8:12 PM

    @thomas patrick: On what basis have they done a great job? Only by looking at the media spun faux comparisons of Italy and UK. When you compare with most similar European countries or the likes of New Zealand you see what could have been possible with an effective strategy and some leadership. We fell some way short. We’ve done ok but it’s been in the absence of adequate leadership.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Toon Army
    Favourite Toon Army
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 8:25 PM

    @thomas patrick: What’s the relevance in comparing us to a continent of 330 million people and a totally different social set up? I don’t see it positive to constantly say we are doing somewhat better than the couple countries that have plundered globally and that have much larger denser populations. Why not look at what’s possible in the majority of Western European / Scandinavian countries or other similar island nations like New Zealand and believe we can do much better.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daniel Dunne
    Favourite Daniel Dunne
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 8:50 PM

    @thomas patrick: we are an island, we could have done way better. We could have achieved the same as NZ or Australia. The “Orange One” has a lower death per capita rate than us, and when this blows over you want someone like the “Orange One” to get your economy going full tilt and roaring again – he has a business head and those types will be nearly as important as the front line workers fighting this crisis in the certain recession ahead.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerald OBrien
    Favourite Gerald OBrien
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 10:12 PM

    @Daniel Dunne: Comparing NZ or the Aussies to Ireland is apples and oranges. They have very different flight traffic to a country like Ireland. They could be doing better, but the metric you have there isnt a good one. If you compare us to countries who do have similar traffic were doing pretty well. Equal to Netherlands, better than the UK for example. We’re way behind Germany, but when aren’t they the best at stuff like that in fairness. Credit where credits due.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerald OBrien
    Favourite Gerald OBrien
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 10:18 PM

    @Gerald OBrien: Also if you do the math America 328,000,000(population) / 67,000(deaths) = 4,800. So 1 death every 4,800. Ireland 4,900,000(population) / 1265(deaths) = 3873. Last time I checked 3873 is less than 4,800

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute FecklessBear
    Favourite FecklessBear
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 10:22 PM

    @Gerald OBrien: Amsterdam and London are major global air travel hubs. How exactly does Ireland have similar flight traffic to the Netherlands and the UK?
    And you can bet Australia and NZ have far more frequent flights from China.
    You’re talking nonsense.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul O Neill
    Favourite Paul O Neill
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 10:43 PM

    @Gerald OBrien: your correct in saying we can’t compare to Aus & NZ as it’s been summer over there whilst it’s been winter in this part of the world, also Dublin airport is a major hub with 33 million passing through last year, add to that the school tours to Northern Italy, Cheltenham has effected us and also the Liverpool matches tying us in with the UK more than the rest so we equally can’t be compared to Scandinavia

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jun Stone
    Favourite Jun Stone
    Report
    May 3rd 2020, 7:16 AM

    @thomas patrick: I agree, I think they did a brilliant job!

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Toon Army
    Favourite Toon Army
    Report
    May 3rd 2020, 8:53 AM

    @Gerald OBrien: lol. Similar traffic to London?

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mairead Jenkins
    Favourite Mairead Jenkins
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:24 PM

    That’s really good news. Now they need to get the health service back up and running generally, and start treating people in some of the 100s of empty beds.

    110
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
    Favourite Jim Buckley Barrett
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:32 PM

    @Mairead Jenkins: no one is stopping any one from attending the hospital where needed. It would seem in the past that a lot of people attending A&E, don’t need to.

    90
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mairead Jenkins
    Favourite Mairead Jenkins
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:57 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: I agree with you re A and E. What I meant was the horrendous waiting lists. Good chance to start tackling them with so much spare capacity plus very high availability of beds in all the private hospitals.

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Andy Harding
    Favourite Andy Harding
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:23 PM

    Thank god it on the way down I’m beginning to feel like Anna Frank at this stage .

    85
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Charles Alexander
    Favourite Charles Alexander
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:49 PM

    @Andy Harding: seriously???

    59
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan McDonald
    Favourite Alan McDonald
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:43 PM

    @Andy Harding: Did she also spell your name wrong?

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Geraldine Glynn
    Favourite Geraldine Glynn
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:27 PM

    Wonderful news. Couldnt be more welcome and needed.
    Full marks and our gratitude to the government and advisors for the tireless efforts.

    51
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Derek Poutch
    Favourite Derek Poutch
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:31 PM

    @Geraldine Glynn: Are you David,s wife, sister or mother even.

    31
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Geraldine Glynn
    Favourite Geraldine Glynn
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 8:18 PM

    @Derek Poutch: None of your business. My private life is not open to you or anyone else to question.

    10
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute FecklessBear
    Favourite FecklessBear
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 10:25 PM

    @Derek Poutch: defo lol..

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Karllye kripton
    Favourite Karllye kripton
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:35 PM

    Thank you for some good news

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jim O Brien Tech
    Favourite Jim O Brien Tech
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:27 PM

    Number of test said be be 100K last week didn’t happen no answers… 169K tested in total..

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dell
    Favourite Dell
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 5:37 PM

    @Jim O Brien Tech: I think every country is having issues around testing and the availability of staff and resources to do so, but at over 34000 tests per million population, we have actually tested a lot more than most countries.

    68
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jim O Brien Tech
    Favourite Jim O Brien Tech
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:45 PM

    @Dell: Noted however harris has promised more than once he would get to a level of testing when he has not so why keep telling people different when it is not possible

    16
    See 3 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dell
    Favourite Dell
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:50 PM

    @Jim O Brien Tech: he can’t see into the future

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dell
    Favourite Dell
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:55 PM

    @Jim O Brien Tech: also he can only go on the information he is being given by the people in the hse or the labs

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute albhbc
    Favourite albhbc
    Report
    May 3rd 2020, 6:35 AM

    @Dell: higher death rate also.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dean
    Favourite Dean
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 8:08 PM

    That’s good. Hoping nurses get the pay rise they were promised last year.

    A clap for frontline workers, but an instant pay rise for TDs.

    Imagine if nurses held their ground on negotiations during this pandemic, because they’re in demand. That’s capitalism, right? But nurses are not as immoral as businesses or FG’s neoliberal policies.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Steve O'Reilly
    Favourite Steve O'Reilly
    Report
    May 3rd 2020, 3:32 AM

    @Dean: the unfortunate thing Dean is that this government is currently throwing billions of euros at the economy and health system to keep everything afloat. This will have to be paid back. I can’t see any pay rises for anyone in that industry unfortunately. And I’m not looking forward to our next budget.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peter Denham
    Favourite Peter Denham
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 6:39 PM

    This might be, depressingly, what was needed to show this spoofer that the health system is a mess.

    19
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Hughes
    Favourite David Hughes
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 9:42 PM

    This is interesting. Does anyone know how many people have died while in ICU? One would assume that if diagnosed with Covid-19 which then became serious resulting in hospitalisation and subsequent transfer to ICU, that most of our 1,200+ deaths should have occurred by that sequence/route. This does not appear to have been the case. It appears that the vast majority of our Covid deaths never made it to ICU and possibly never even made it to hospital. Or I am I missing something somewhere…..

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Hundredth Idiot
    Favourite Hundredth Idiot
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 9:55 PM

    @David Hughes: frail people aren’t put on ventilators in ICU because the outcomes aren’t good for them, i.e. it’s an intervention that doesn’t work. Nothing to do with capacity, it’s the same in normal times. So there’s lots of deaths outside of ICU.

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Hughes
    Favourite David Hughes
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 11:58 PM

    @Hundredth Idiot: Thank you. So those that are deemed to be too frail are not given the chance of life as their possible outcomes are not good – in order to make room for the potential intake of Covid 19 cases? The ICU numbers that have died seem very low in comparison with the national figure

    5
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Hundredth Idiot
    Favourite Hundredth Idiot
    Report
    May 3rd 2020, 2:56 AM

    @David Hughes: No, you’re fundamentally misunderstanding. There is no capacity issue, there is no “not being given the chance of life”. ICU isn’t the most appropriate place for many frail patients. It’s a clinical decision. Google “clinical frailty scale” and COVID-19.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John John
    Favourite John John
    Report
    May 2nd 2020, 10:17 PM

    And zero covid19 in the 2 Galway hospitals ICU

    7
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds