EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova has warned tech giants over rules. EPA
EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova has warned tech giants over rules. EPA

Facebook and Twitter face sanctions threat from Europe



Facebook and Twitter face sanctions unless they comply with European consumer rules by the end of the year, the EU said as its regulators continue to their crackdown on US social media giants over privacy concerns.

Online platforms have come under fire in Europe because of their dominance and anti-competitive business practices, resulting in hefty fines handed down to some companies.

Seven months after being told to bring their user terms in line with EU regulations, both Facebook and Twitter have yet to fully address all the issues, the European Commission said on Thursday.

In contrast, Airbnb made the necessary changes after being told to do so three months ago, European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said.

"If we don't see progress, the sanctions will come," she said. "This is quite clear. We cannot negotiate for ever, we need to see the results."

Twitter should also make the necessary changes by year-end, a Commission spokesman said.

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Any sanctions would be imposed by national consumer bodies.

The Commission has previously said it was worried about the companies' liability and how users are informed about content removal or contract terminations.

Facebook said it had already made a number of changes and would continue to cooperate with the authorities.

"We updated Facebook's terms of service in May and included the vast majority of changes the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network and the European Commission had proposed at that point," the company said.

"Our terms are now much clearer on what is and what isn't allowed on Facebook and on the options people have."

Changes to Airbnb's user terms include showing the total price of bookings and extra fees, whether the offer is made by a private host or by a professional and that consumers have the right to take legal action.

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Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5