[iGoog]

How is this not in violation of most wiretapping laws? Facebook is not the common carrier in these cases. Both parties of conversations with teens are not consenting to the wiretapping, which is not allowed in many US states. I’m not sure teenage consent is considered “consent” and the parents aren’t a party to the conversations Facebook is wiretapping. Facebook is both paying people and recording the electronic communications... So how the hell is this legal under current laws?

[renholder]

>How is this not in violation of most wiretapping laws?

This is, perhaps, the most apt question to take away from this. If an individual did this, even with an EULA, that would be a fast-tracked way for them to see the inside of a penitentiary in almost any country, yeah?

[ddalex]

Unless you can spend tens of millions on lawyers when the benefit of wiretapping would be in the billions.

[modzu]

im sure a disclaimer is in the eula (boo).. but if it were deemed illegal, i suspect fb would just pay the fines, or more likely, be given time to come into compliance with the law..

[iGoog]

FB isn’t the service provider, they’re intercepting and recording private conversations they aren’t a party to... where not all the parties are consenting, and sometimes the party is not of age to consent... If it’s criminal, why should they be given “time”?

[modzu]

i agree its not justice, but the answer is because they have power. you could download the vpn and then try to press charges. hope you have lots of money.

[bencollier49]

A 13-year-old can't make a contract in law, certainly not in the UK. Was the app installed outside the US?

[Twisell]

A 19 year old can. If he access private discussion with his 13 year old brother, indirectly the study will gather data of the kid. RGPD don’t care if you gathered data directly or inderictly, you are liable.

[jsty]

It's not quite that cut and dry in the UK[0], and the article mentions that parental consent was required.

But if they were operating in the UK, I'm somewhat doubtful their disclosures as reported in the article could be classed as informed consent under GDPR given the "specific protection" children are provided [1].

[0] http://www.steinfeldlaw.co.uk/uploads/Are%20you%20contractin...

[1] https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protectio...

[morpheuskafka]

They can make a contract in the US, but they generally have the right to disaffirm it until 18.

[mitjam]

Has this been used in Europe, as well? If yes, can someone affected please excercise their GDPR rights and ask for information and access to personal data?