If the new European law on the protection of electronic data of Internet users goes into effect tomorrow, almost 1.9 billion Facebook users around the world would be protected by it.
But the world's largest social network is doing everything it can to ensure that number is much smaller.
Facebook members outside the United States and Canada, whether they know it or not, are currently governed by terms of service agreed upon at the company's international headquarters in Ireland.
But starting next month, according to Reuters, Facebook plans to make it very clear that only European users will be protected by the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Next month, Facebook is planning to make that the case for only European users, meaning 1.5 billion members in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America will not fall under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect on May 25.
What does this mean? The social network’s 1.5 billion members in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America will not be subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Facebook confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that it is willing to adopt the GDPR. The law allows European regulators to impose large fines on companies that collect and use personal data without users’ consent.
The law will not stop at European borders, as companies will be bound by the GDPR’s requirements wherever they are located as long as they have facilities in the EU, offer goods and services in the EU or track the behavior of EU residents.
The change will affect more than 70 percent of Facebook’s 2 billion members. As of December, Facebook had 239 million users in the United States and Canada, 370 million in Europe and 1.52 billion users in other countries around the world.
Facebook, like many other U.S. tech companies, set up an Irish subsidiary in 2008 to take advantage of the country’s low tax rates. But the Icelandic subsidiary will be subject to the same regulations that apply in the European Union.
But let’s look at a very interesting statement from Facebook:
“We apply the same privacy protections everywhere, regardless of whether your agreement is with Facebook Inc or Facebook Ireland,” the company said.
But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Reuters earlier this month that his company would follow the “spirit” of the EU law, but he did not seem to commit to whether the “spirit” would apply worldwide.
For users of the social network in Europe, Facebook published the changes coming with the GDPR yesterday.
Recall that during Zuckerberg's hearing by theUS Congress, Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota and chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, stated:
"The story you created represents the American dream. You have an obligation to ensure that the dream does not become a nightmare.".
