With this phrase, the European head of privacy on Facebook, Richard Allan, came to the crossroads of the attempt of the European Union (EU) to incorporate the right to be forgotten on the Web.
The phrase of the European referent of one of the largest social networks worldwide was said the day before yesterday during his speech at the media forum in Westminster, England, where Allan also considered that the changes being analyzed to be made involve generalizing a measure requested by few users and in exceptional cases.
Last week the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, had announced that the EU was considering modifying data protection laws to force Internet companies (social networks, browsers and servers) to delete the information of users who wished to do so.
To achieve this goal, the EU would introduce changes before December in European laws on the protection of personal data, which have not been changed for 16 years.
The case of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users in the world, is emblematic, since a couple of years ago it has been the target of criticism for its data protection and privacy laws that had to be gradually modified as a result of several proposals around the planet.
Allan also said that mechanisms should be sought to deal with those exceptional cases that may arise. For example, when people want to delete photos or information from their youth that may affect them in their present or future work.
However, the company's referent clarifies that it is not Facebook's responsibility for the material that each person decides to upload and share on the platform.
Last week Reding had said: "Any company operating in the European market or for any online product that has Consumers from the European Union as buyers must comply with EU rules."
As a result of this statement, the measure would affect everyone, especially the United States, because most of the Internet providers, social networks or search engines are located in that country.
Meanwhile, companies such as Google, Yahoo, Twitter or Skype did not comment on the change in legislation that is advancing in Europe and that could mean a change in the dissemination and storage of personal information on the Web.
In Argentina, the "right to be forgotten" is applied through Law 25,326 in cases involving information on credit risks. However, the current law does not speak exhaustively of social networks, browsers or Internet search engines.
The previous debate
In 2010 another controversy had already been generated in Europe based on the incorporation of geolocation services in social networks. Last year Facebook launched that feature, which first started in the United States and is now available in Argentina.The app is called Place and allows Facebook users with a smarthpone to indicate where they are.
For its part, Google had already presented a similar application called Latitude.
"Imagine that within a year they will be able to tell you that you were in such a place, close to such a person," reasoned Alain Pannetrat, a technology expert at the French National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (CNIL), an independent administrative body dedicated to the defense of privacy and freedoms in the digital age.
However, the expansion of the geolocation service increased and even social networks were created that base their existence on the location of people. Such is the case with Foursquare.
"Any company operating in the European market or for any online product that has EU consumers as buyers must comply with EU rules"
VIVIANE REDING
Comis. Jus., DD.FF. and Ciu. of the EU
Source: La Nación
