Dutch privacy groups demand Facebook stop sharing info with U.S.

Four Dutch privacy organizations threatened Facebook with legal action if the social media giant and its subsidiaries do not stop sharing European users' personal data with the United States. The groups gave Facebook until January 15th to clarify its policy on this matter, Tweakers reports. The privacy organizations involved are Privacy First, Bits of Freedom, the Public Interest Litigation Project and Platform Bescherming Burgerrechten. According to Tweakers, the organizations want Facebook to contribute to a solution to the problem of data sharing from the EU to the U.S. This became a problem when the European Court of Justice declared the EU's Safe Harbour-treaty invalid. This treaty eliminated the need for local privacy watchdogs to make sure that American firms have adequate data protection measures in place. By declaring it invalid, the court effectively put an end to American companies' automatic right to store information about their EU clients in the US. Up until now Facebook only stated that this case is not so much about them and held themselves aloof from the discussions.