EC 'Impatient' With Facebook's Slow Progress on Consumer Transparency

Facebook must be absolutely straight with consumers about how it operates and makes money, said EU Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova at a livestreamed Thursday news briefing. The European Commission said in February that social media companies must do better aligning terms of service with EU consumer protection rules. Facebook and others have made some changes, but Jourova said many people are still unclear about how it makes their data available to third parties or holds full copyright in content posted on the site. The EC gave the company until October to correct all remaining misleading terms and conditions, with all changes to be in place by year's end. "I am becoming impatient" with Facebook, the commissioner said: Talks have been ongoing for about two years but "we cannot negotiate forever." Asked what she'll do if the platform hasn't shown progress around October, Jourova said it will face penalties set by national authorities in 2019. The EC also went after Airbnb, which Thursday committed to making all requested modifications, Jourova said. These included making its prices more transparent and clarifying that consumers can use all available remedies, including suing hosts, in case of damages or personal harm. Facebook wants its terms to be clear and accessible to everyone, a spokeswoman said. It updated its terms of service in May and included the vast majority of changes proposed by the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network and the EC, she said: Facebook "will continue our close cooperation to understand any further concerns and make appropriate updates."