Social media companies have taken steps towards improving adherence with consumer protection rules in the EU, but still need to do more, according to a statement from the European Commission. Google in particular shows improvement, while Facebook and even more so Twitter have work to do.
The Commission met with the companies in March, after EU consumer regulators already took action against the social media networks in 2016 about improving their consumer protection. The EC has published the latest changes adopted by the companies, which it says will benefit the more than 250 million EU consumers who use social media.
Changes include not forcing consumers to waive mandatory EU consumer rights through default user conditions, such as their right to withdraw from an online purchase, and introducing the ability to lodge complaints in Europe, rather than in California. These should be implemented all language versions of the social media sites by the end of Q1 2018.
However, the changes only partially fulfil the requirements under EU consumer law, the Commission said. Vera Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality said "it is unacceptable that this is still not complete and it is taking so much time".
While Google's latest proposals appear to be in line with the requests made by EU consumer regulators, Facebook and, more significantly, Twitter, have only partially addressed important issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination, the Commission said.
When it comes to the "notice and action procedure" used by consumer protection authorities to report and request the removal of illegal content, the changes by some companies were found to be insufficient. Google+ has set up a protocol, including deadlines to deal with the requests, but Facebook and Twitter have only agreed to provide a dedicated e-mail address that national authorities can use to notify infringements, without committing to deal with such requests within specific timeframes.
The Commission said it's working on follow-up steps, as part of a wider effort to improve take-down procedures and combat illegal content online. It also plans to propose in April a 'New Deal' for consumers, with reforms of consumer protection regulation and increased enforcement mechanisms.
