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from the they-can-still-screw-over-the-rest-of-the-world dept.
Fraud, scams, and "unfair" terms and conditions all need to be cleaned up on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, the European Commission has said—warning the US firms that any failure to comply with the order will lead to sanctions.
It comes after the trio of free content ad networks were put on notice in November last year, when Brussels' officials asked the companies to address two areas of concern.
Facebook, Twitter, and Google—all of which are routinely blasted by regulators and lawmakers in Europe—have one month to submit proposals for how they plan to comply with the EU's demands. If their offers come up short against the bloc's regulatory framework, then consumer authorities could threaten to take enforcement action, the commission said.
"Given the growing importance of online social networks it is time to make sure that our strong EU rules, that are there to protect consumers from unfair practices, are complied with in this sector," said Brussels' justice commissioner, Vera Jourová.
"It is not acceptable that EU consumers can only call on a court in California to resolve a dispute. Nor can we accept that users are deprived of their right to withdraw from an online purchase. Social media companies also need to take more responsibility in addressing scams and fraud happening on their platforms."
The commission—citing the Unfair Contract Terms Directive—wants the companies' terms of service to "be brought into conformity with European consumer law."
Source: ArsTechnica
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21 2017, @05:42AM
Obama never intended to make health care cost less. His intent was to force poor people to have insurance. Many of the angry people were expecting lower costs, not coverage for the poor. Obama also mandated lots of features, causing prices to rise and causing many insurance plans to be terminated.
I'll grant that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was nice. With that and net neutrality, Obama was right twice, just like a stopped clock.
The banks are tough. Fundamentally, they are too big and the executives have incentives to misbehave. When a gamble turns out OK, they profit. When a gamble goes bad, we bail them out, which is kind of necessary because banks are large enough (and interconnected even) that bank failure can fuck with the national economy. It's like they hold our economy hostage. Also, they were paying Hillary.
I would have been pissed at a better bailout for homeowners. Those homeowners were frequently dishonest about income and home value, and they were living well beyond their means in lovely houses. Meanwhile, I was dutifully saving so that I could pay 20% down and have plenty left over for an emergency fund. That crash meant I could get a better house, and I did.