France joins probe into Facebook

European data protection authorities are putting pressure on the social media giant by joining forces to probe Facebook’s privacy controls.

Facebook has for years been criticized by concerns regarding how well privacy is safeguarded online. A collective action between Belgium, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands has been launched.

The group is likely to examine the sharing of data between different apps such as Whatsapp and Instagram, both of which belong to the US giant.

Facebook stated it was acting in compliance with data protection legislation and recently their terms and polices were made more concise and clear and feel those comply with applicable laws.

Earlier this month, Max Schrems filed a class action suit against the social network for alleged privacy breaches.

Max Schrems along with 25,000 other users are suing the social media giant for various rights violations, ranging from the illegally tracking their data under European Union law to its involvement in the PRISM surveillance program utilized by NSA.

Google has also been criticized over privacy issues and has had multiple run-ins with authorities in Europe.

Photo by Danny Sullivan