Read an article somewhere about how many times FB did something wrong or questionable, and how in every case approached things as "bugs", something that shouldn't have happened. The problem with data is once it "happened" well, it happened.

...in August 2016, it announced plans to share user data with its parent company to offer up "friend suggestions" and "more relevant ads".

EU commissioners are upset about friend suggestions and the ability to show relevant ads. That's a bit intrusive, but users sign up for a free service they have to pay in some way. The Internet isn't free.

Maybe EU users can pay to opt out? Nobody's forcing them to use these apps.

Maybe EU users can pay to opt out? Nobody's forcing them to use these apps.

It's not clear about opting out, and it's not clear that your data will be shared, and that's the point.

From next May the ICO will be handing out bigger fines and the amount it can fine increases from £500K to €20 million, and its government funding is taken away. Maybe this will be its first sale.

Ahhhh, self funded: If that's the case we might see more fines.

That's a bit intrusive, but users sign up for a free service they have to pay in some way. The Internet isn't free.

Caveat emptor is a deprecated concept in Europe. In general, the law assumes consumers are basically children, and need to be protected from themselves.

Increasingly, "small print" is not deemed sufficient to inform a consumer about rights or obligations arising from a contract. There was an intermediate "Key Features" stage where significant rights and obligations were highlighted, but even this is non enough to protect childlike consumers from dangerous, predatory companies.

Now, significant rights and obligations require explicit, itemised opt-ins. If you thought the cookies thing was a PITA, you wait for GPDR [en.wikipedia.org].

Consumers are actively encouraged to believe the State will protect them from any consequences to their own free choices. Consumers get dumber as a result, meaning the State is required to intervene more often- causing consumers to become even dumber. A viscous circle in which more power accrues to the state, while personal responsibility bleeds away from the individual.

I get that WhatsApp users who registered before the company was acquired by Facebook might be peeved if data was moved into the FB ecosystem, particularly if they don't use facebook. But for users of both, or those who signed up after the acquisition, I'm not sure where the harm lies.

I'm a big advocate of Privacy, but it's naive in the extreme to expect a data company to not use the data you chose to give them.

>Caveat emptor is a deprecated concept in Europe
Probably because it's old latin thing, and the year is now 2017

It's true. Everything was fine when FaciemLiber* bought QuidNova* back in AD40

*With apologies to any Latin speakers- blame it on Google Translate