Austrian student takes on Facebook on privacy

Time for an “aha’’ moment.

In response,Schrems has launched an online campaign aimed at forcing the social media behemoth that has 800 million users to abide by European data privacy laws,something the Palo Alto,California-based company insists it already does.

Yet since Schrems launched his “Europe vs. Facebook’’ website in August,Facebook has increasingly been making overtures not only to Schrems,but to other Europeans concerned about data privacy,including Germany’s data security watchdogs.

“Have we done enough in the past to deal with you? No,’’ Facebook’s director of European public policy,Richard Allan,testified Tuesday before a German parliamentary committee. “Will we do more now? Yes.’’

The lawmakers were holding a hearing on privacy rights. The European campaign comes amid increased agitation in the US over what many view as invasive Internet marketing practices that allow consumers to be observed,analysed and harvested for profit,with no regard for their right to privacy.

Last month,several US privacy interest groups asked the US Federal Trade Commission to look into recent changes made by Facebook that give the company greater ability to disclose users’ personal information to businesses than it used to have.

The German lawmakers brought up a raft of complaints Tuesday,from allegations that Facebook’s “Like’’ button allows the company to track nonmembers Internet activity,to concerns over the company’s use of facial recognition software on personal photos.

One of Schrems’ main complaints with Facebook,he says,is that company retains information far longer than allowed under European law,which it most cases is limited to a few months. Under European law,consumers have the right to request a record of the personal information held by a firm. The law further stipulates that to retain data beyond the limit of several months,a company must have a reason to do so.