Ultimatum to Facebook, Twitter and Google for their conditions of use

Ultimatum to Facebook, Twitter and Google for their conditions of use

The European Commission will take collective action against them by the national consumer protection authorities

   The European Commission (EC) warned that if Facebook, Twitter and Google+ do not offer satisfactory commitments to adapt their conditions of use to European standards, a collective action will be taken against them by the national authorities of consumer protection.

"I'm afraid we will not give them another chance: the next step in the procedure in case there is no satisfactory response will be to launch a coordinated action," European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said today.

   The three companies had to provide before July 20 a series of commitments to the Commission to adapt their terms and conditions of use to European laws on consumer protection, after Brussels and the national consumer protection authorities sent them a letter in November of last year asking for measures.

After meeting with the companies in March, in June they were asked to clarify their first proposals, in particular, regarding the limitation of their responsibility towards the consumer, with the information they provide on the terms of the contract, and on the process for notifying content. illegal.

However, until July 20, only two of the three companies had responded, while a third requested more time, until August 4, to present commitments, said Jourova, who did not specify which is each.

Now the Commission is analyzing the proposals received and "pressing" for the third company to send theirs and, once this study is concluded, it will determine if they are satisfactory and, otherwise, the coordinated action will be launched by the authorities of the Member States.

This would be directed by the General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumption and Fraud Control of France, which has led cooperation between national authorities. "We will continue with the dialogue, but not forever," said Jourova, who warned that he is beginning to "be impatient."

The commissioner did not specify what would be the deadline to undertake the coordinated action, although the changes by the companies should be effective in the fall.

The Minister of Justice and Consumers said that "under the terms and conditions of these American companies there are several very unfavorable conditions for European consumers" and warned that "if they want to make big business using the benefits of operating in the European market they have to comply with the European rules of consumer protection. "

The Commission criticizes that companies require users to go to court in California (United States) to resolve their complaints and urges them, on the other hand, to comply with the European anti-fraud law, undertaking to eliminate fraudulent promotions and other type of false campaigns.