The EU will force the social network sites to improve privacy-The Guardian

The European Union is to dock a "right to be forgotten online" to ensure that potential employers among others, can not find the old Facebook party photos of someone wearing nothing else than a Lampshade.

In a speech to the European Parliament EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, warned companies such as Facebook as: "an American-based social networking company, which has millions of active users in Europe must comply with the EU's rules."

In a package of proposals to be unveiled before the summer, the Commissioner intends to force Facebook and other social networking sites to make the high standards of data protection is the default setting and provide control over the data back to the user.

"I would like to expressly clarify that people have the right – and not only the possibility – to withdraw their consent to data treatment," said Reding. "The burden of proof should be on the controller – those who process your personal data. They must prove that they need to keep the data, rather than people having to prove that collect their data are not necessary. "

Under the proposals, will be established national privacy watchdogs powers to investigate and initiate legal proceedings against companies with services that target the EU consumers.

Reding spokesman, Matthew Newman, said: "a year ago, she issued a warning because Facebook personal settings changed for the worse and now she legislature to put meat on those bones."

Facebook profiles has since January last year been available by default. Users have to opt in to ensure that their photographs and other information can be viewed only by friends.

Newman said companies "cannot believe they are exempt from, just because they have their servers in California or doing their data processing in Bangalore. If the target EU citizens, they must obey the rules. "

Personal settings are often so complex that a typical user does not know how to use them, said Reding's staff. The new legislation would ensure privacy is built-in and not stapled on later as an added extra. The rules would also outlaw hidden collection of data without the user explicitly gives permission.

Newman said that the legislation would the EU first jurisdiction to deliver a "right to be forgotten".

"Perhaps you've been to a party, until four in the morning and you or someone you know posts photos of you," he said. "Well, it is a harmless little fun, but not to delete this may threaten your job, or access to future employment."

The rules that would give consumers a specific right to withdraw your consent to share their data. "And after you have withdrawn their consent, even should not be a ghost of your data left in some server somewhere. It is your data and it should have gone for good, "he said.

Facebook believes it is already compliant with the EU acquis and to say that it works in conjunction with Brussels officials in the revision of the legislation on data protection, which was adopted in 1995, in the early days of the Internet.

"Facebook is fully engaged in the debates around the revision of the EU data protection directive," said a company spokeswoman, Sophy silver. "We work closely with the data protection authorities across the EU and the European Commission and Parliament.

Silver said Facebook users already could remove their data completely from the view, and then it took a couple of weeks to clean up in the company's servers.

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