Many SMEs are withdrawing from social networks. This can have fatal consequences.
Anyone who runs an online shop in Germany can be described as courageous. For example, there are constant changes to mandatory information such as the legal notice and cancellation policy. Resourceful lawyers have long realised that it pays to scan the web. For example: An internet retailer can be sued for a hefty sum because of a missing or erroneously listed telephone number in some place, which is constantly changing thanks to the legislator. This is particularly bad news for SMEs, which can be hit hard by such penalties.
The GDPR, which came into force at the end of May, is another milestone. It brought with it many challenges that not all shop operators have yet faced. Here is another overview overview of the necessary measures. One major problem, however, is the use of Facebook Instagram, which is becoming growing importance for SMEs. There has been considerable legal uncertainty here since a recent judgement by the European Court of Justice. The Strasbourg court ruled that users should also be held responsible for any breaches of data protection on the part of Facebook. undefined
Around a quarter of SMEs have restricted their online activities very much as a result, and over 40 per cent have restricted them somewhat. This cannot be the solution!
Add a privacy policy or avoid Facebook for now?
The good news is that you can have your own privacy policy created by professional providers (or your own law firm, of course) and then integrate it directly into your Facebook page. IT-Rechtkanzlei explains why this is necessary.
As a result of the ECJ declaring the operators of a Facebook fan page or group jointly liable for the data processing carried out by Facebook and thereby making them the point of contact for the data protection authorities, these operators must now provide their own privacy policy in order to fulfil their responsibility. This decision can be easily transferred to Instagram.
The problem: A legally compliant privacy policy is certainly an important step, but does not offer absolute security. If you want to be on the safe side, you have to switch off your fan page until Facebook offers a viable solution. And it will have to do so, because commercial (advertising) customers are simply far too important. Or are they? The company is trying to circumvent the strict European regulations, at least in all other parts of the world to which they would actually apply - after all, Facebook is based in tax-friendly Ireland. undefined
The only question is, who can afford to do without their social media presence until Facebook has sufficiently upgraded its European law? Perhaps the best solution is to keep calm, stay online for the time being and keep up to date with the latest information. After all, panicking is no use to anyone. You - along with many other Facebook users - are now faced with this difficult decision.
Sources:
https://www.internetrecht-rostock.de/abmahnung-widerrufsbelehrung-die-haeufigsten-fehler.htm
https://www.haendlerbund.de/de/leistungen/rechtssicherheit/agb-service/datenschutzgrundverordnung
https://www.marktundmittelstand.de/personal/wegen-dsgvo-mittelstand-schraenkt-facebook-aktivitaeten-ein-1272521/
https://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/facebook-instagram-datenschutzerklaerung.html
https://www.zeit.de/digital/datenschutz/2018-04/datenschutz-grundverordnung-facebook-anpassung-datenschutz-nutzerdaten-europa-afrika
https://www.fuer-gruender.de/blog/2018/06/eugh-urteil-facebook-fanpage/
