Belgium appeals court lifts restrictions on Facebook data collection News
Belgium appeals court lifts restrictions on Facebook data collection

The Brussels Court of Appeals [official website, in French] on Wednesday found that the Belgian courts do not have jurisdiction over Facebook’s collection and processing of data from users in Belgium. The court noted that Facebook [corporate website] is an American company that bases its European operations, including data processing for European and some North American customers, in Ireland. As such, the court found [L’Echo report] that it had no jurisdiction over the processing of data collected by a foreign company in a foreign country. The Commission for the Protection of Privacy (CPP) [official website] said Wednesday’s ruling vacating a lower court order [JURIST report] preventing Facebook from any tracking of users within the country who have not signed up for the social networking platform meant that Belgians were unable to protect their private lives [press release, in French] from foreign actors and would be exposed to massive violations of their privacy. The CPP also indicated that it is examining an appeal to Belgium’s Court of Cassation [official website, in French].

Facebook has faced numerous legal challenges across the globe. In January Germany’s Federal Court of Justice [official website, in German] ruled [press release, in German] that Facebook’s friend finder feature is unlawful [JURIST report]. In October the European Court of Justice [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that EU user data transferred to the US by various technology companies, including Facebook, is not sufficiently protected. In December 2014 Facebook failed to dismiss a lawsuit [JURIST report] that claimed it scanned users’ private messages for the names of websites for targeted advertising purposes. In May 2014 an Iranian judge ordered [JURIST report] Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear in court regarding allegation that certain Facebook apps violated user privacy.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

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On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.