Facebook’s Like button faces legal blow from German court

2146

Social networking giant has received another blow in Germany. The German court has passed a rule against an online shopping site against the use of the ‘Like’ button on March 9, 2016.

FB Like

The new ruling has given a new blow to the social network in the country. Retailer Peek and Cloppenburg could not get a proper consent before transmitting its users’ computer identities to the social network. The Dusseldorf district court said that it violates Germany’s data protection law and gives the retailer a commercial advantage.
The ruling was announced in favour of the complaint filed by North Rhine Westphalia Consumer Association who said that Peek & Cloppenburg’s Fashion ID website had grabbed the user data and sent it to the social network before the shoppers decided if they wanted to click the like button or not. The court said, “A mere link to a data protection statement at the foot of the website does not constitute an indication that data are being or are about to be processed”.
Moreover, the association has also warned the hotel portal HRS, shopping loyalty program Payback, fashion retailer KiK and others for similar use of the ‘like’ button on Facebook. A spokesperson from Facebook said that this particular case is specific to a website and the way they have got consent from their users in the past.
Photo Credits: breitbart