Facebook personal data use and privacy settings ruled illegal by German court

Firm to appeal decision by Berlin regional court which upholds complaints that users not given informed consent

Facebook's default privacy settings and use of personal data are against German consumer law, according to a judgement handed down by a Berlin regional court.

The court found that Facebook collects and uses personal data without providing enough information to its members for them to render meaningful consent. The federation of German consumer organisations (VZBV), which brought the suit, argued that Facebook opted users in to features which it should not have.