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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Facebook should adopt stringent EU data protection rules as a global "baseline" for all of the social network's services, consumer activists say in an open letter that contends the rules will help ensure the company is accountable and transparent.

The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, a coalition of US and European consumer groups, called on CEO Mark Zuckerberg to adopt the EU's General Data Protection Regulation to govern his company's platform. The sweeping regulation, known by the abbreviation GDPR, gives Europeans more control over their personal data and compels companies to notify consumers of data breaches within 72 hours. It also expands the types of information that are considered personal data.

"The GDPR provides a solid foundation for data protection, establishing clear responsibilities for companies that collect personal data and clear rights for users whose data is gathered," TCD said in its letter. "These are protections that all users should be entitled to no matter where they are located."

[...] In its letter, the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue suggested the GDPR represents the gold standard in data protection, telling Zuckerberg that "there is simply no reason for your company to provide less than the best legal standards currently available to protect the privacy of Facebook users."

It urged Zuckerberg to express his commitment "to global compliance with GDPR and provide specific details on how the company plans to implement these changes" in his Congressional testimony. 

[...] Facebook declined to comment for this story, but executives have previously commented on GDPR and similar subjects.

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