If You Don’t Want to be Spied On, Close Your Facebook, Warns European Union

The European Union (EU) has warned its citizens that they should delete their Facebook profiles if they don’t want their information making its way into the hands of the US intelligence and security services, as current Safe Harbour legislation isn’t sufficient to protect user data from surveillance requests.

The alert comes from European Commission (EC) Attorney Bernhard Schima during his handling of Maximilian Schrems’ privacy court case, which examined whether EU citizen’s online data should be considered safe in the hands of the US, post-Snowden.

During the case at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, Schima told EU Attorney General Yves Bot, “You might consider closing your Facebook account, if you have one.”

The Safe Harbour framework is designed to facilitate the transmission of EU citizens’ data to the US. In its absence, it would be illegal for that information to be sent outside of the EU. Schrem argues that companies operating within the EU should not be allowed to take advantage of the Safe Habour protection.

The case is on-going. A decision from the European Court of Justice on the Safe Harbour framework is expected on 24^th June.

Source: The Guardian