A German regulator ordered Facebook to stop regulating names and allow users to use pseudonyms on the social network. This comes after a complaint by a German woman from Hamburg complained to the authorities about the excessive nature of Facebook’s naming policies.
The decision reached is that Facebook must not control people’s names on its site, and must allow at least some pseudonyms to be taken by people who want to protect their identity.
The woman from Hamburg is just one of the many cases in which the US Company has proven itself excessive in enforcing its policies. The new privacy policy of the website has seen much criticism, especially in Europe. Apparently the woman wanted to use a different name so as to better mask her professional identity in the online medium, as she did not want to be contacted on Facebook for work related issues.
Now, this may seem pretty normal. Don’t we all? But what happened was not only did Facebook temporarily shut down her account, it also asked for an ID copy so as to see her real name, after which it simply changed it without even asking her.
This type of behavior is abusive, the German regulator from Hamburg decided. The authority in this instance is the Hamburg Data Protection Authority. Facebook’s response to this was disappointment, as they say that their privacy policy had been previously tried by multiple courts in Germany, all subsequently deeming it compliant with the law of the EU.
Facebook has repeatedly defended its policy by saying that using real names doesn’t invade people’s privacy, but rather protects them from others. Their belief is that when you have a friend who uses a pseudonym, then how can you be sure about that friend being trustworthy?
On previous instances that spurred debate, Facebook said that, as its EU headquarters was located in Ireland, than it should only abide to the law present in Ireland. The German court has firmly been against this, saying that as long as Facebook is active in their territory, it should respect their law.
The privacy watchdog from Ireland audited Facebook’s privacy standards back in 2011. The decision reached was that Irish Law was being respected and that the reasons for such strict naming guidelines by Facebook are, in the end justified. The winning argument was that it enforces child safety an makes sure that harassment on the web does not take place.
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Eley Jadore says
The nerve that Facebook had to change that woman’s name without her consent. Wow! These guys are really ****** (insert expletive here).