"Facebook’s UK users will remain subject to UK privacy law, which for now tracks the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)" - so, what changes for users?
They can't wait to do this because as soon as either the UK or EU changes their laws (may happen in a month, may not for years), the terms would no longer be valid for one set of users. Facebook would end up in a situation where its terms are invalid for millions of users potentially for months.
EU rules look great, until one of the nations decide to sh*t on it, see Hungary (I'm a Hungarian citizen, but not really proud of it any more) vs EU recently on budgeting, or Ireland being unwilling to actually enforce any EU regulations.
This could be more of a strategic move from Facebook, anticipating the UK government wanting a quick post-Brexit trade deal with the US and having limited practical room to manoeuvre in negotiating one. In particular, the UK government presumably doesn't want to commit political suicide, so it's very unlikely to compromise on issues like the NHS or food standards. That means it needs something else, and probably something big, that it can bring to the table. And that could well be favours for US tech firms that are already here, such as agreeing not to go after them for extra taxes and brushing anything resembling privacy protections under the carpet.
Whether that is a good bet for Facebook to make is a different question. If the Johnson administration doesn't manage to seal a deal very quickly -- and it does have a few other things on its plate right now, not to mention a known-hostile incoming Biden administration across the pond -- then there is a decent chance that any future US-UK trade deal will actually be concluded a few years later. By that time, our respective governments might well be led by Kamala Harris and Keir Starmer, for example, in which case Big Tech might have much bigger worries anyway.
But since no-one has a crystal ball, presumably those tech firms are going to try to insulate themselves from unnecessary risk in the fallout from Brexit, and this move by Facebook probably achieves that at a reasonable cost right now, regardless of what might happen some years later.
hahahahahahahaha.
The ICO has about as many teeth as a newborn baby.
They have actual knowledge of criminality by the adtech industry and they refuse to regulate. They say as much in their most recent annual report!
No, what the ICO does is issue press releases and notices of intent and then either does nothing or backs way the fuck down.
Just look at Marriot, BA, or AIQ for examples of the reality of the enforcement issues being nothing like their initial announcements of enforcement.
Denham is completely incompetent, and her office simply can't get its act together.
Given that the maximum penalty it can levy is £20m, it is completely toothless against any major corporation. BA got off with a slapped wrist after their fiasco. The GDPR looks good on paper but where exactly are these 4% of global turnover fines it was supposed to make happen?
In any case, it makes sense that those maximums would be used only in the most serious cases of wilful violations. I wonder whether internally at the ICO they might be waiting for a chance to make an example of one of the tech giants whose whole business model, unlike the organisations penalised so far, is based on exploiting personal data in questionable ways.
Now Facebook can still easily, with a somewhat straight face, say that this is purely necessitated by Brexit legalities while in reality they're just prepping for the repeal.
FB and Ireland are already fighting over privacy, and the US and UK are negotiating new terms. That may result in changes to UK privacy laws, which FB will be able to take advantage of.