Facebook has a friend in Ireland — especially when it comes to European privacy rules.
In diplomatic meetings in Brussels late last year, Irish representatives used arguments similar to talking points provided to Dublin by Facebook, according to public statements, EU officials and emails obtained by POLITICO.
The talks regarded Europes draft e-privacy regulation, which Facebooks worries would undermine their ad-based business model by limiting the use of user data.
In an example from December, an Irish representative argued that a draft proposal would hinder efforts to combat child pornography online — a point that Facebook had been pushing in its communications with the Irish government in the preceding months, according to the non-public emails, which were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by POLITICO.
Ireland and the U.K. were the first countries to bring up the child pornography argument at discussions between European countries. Dublin also echoed other concerns Facebook expressed to the Irish government about the reform, which seeks to guarantee the privacy of people communicating online.
“Child pornography is always an excuse” — Birgit Sippel, Socialist MEP in charge of e-privacy legislation
Ireland was not the only country that sought to water down the e-privacy regulation, which has since stalled amid broader opposition. France also echoed talking points similar to those put forward by the publishing industry, and Germany later also raised the fight against child pornography as a reason for caution.
Irelands adoption of one of Facebooks talking points is notable, given Facebooks extensive operations in the country. A report in the Guardian earlier this month described how Facebook asked Dublin to limit the impact of the EUs General Data Protection Regulation on its operations, as the proposal was making its way through Brussels legislative process.
That the e-privacy regulation would undermine efforts to fight child pornography has been strongly disputed by the European Commission and EU lawmakers.
“Child pornography is always an excuse,” said Birgit Sippel, the Socialist MEP in charge of e-privacy legislation in the European Parliament. “When stakeholders want to increase the pressure, they simply mention terrorism or child pornography as a reason why we have to allow more surveillance and less privacy-friendly rules.”
Birgit Sippel, Socialist MEP | European Union
Digital rights NGOs raised similar objections. “The fight against child pornography is very important. Unfortunately, all too often it is used as a distracting tactic to blur tech policy debates in an attempt to influence or even derail negotiations,” said Estelle Massé, a senior policy analyst at Access Now, adding that telecoms companies used the same argument to fend off net neutrality rules.
A spokesperson for Facebook said the concerns about child pornography are “legitimate” and have been raised by several countries “on their own behalf in line with those that have been raised by industry and the NGOs.”
An Irish official described Facebooks communications with Dublin regarding e-privacy as “standard procedure.”
“As is usual during the course of negotiation of EU legislative files, Ireland, as well as other member states, has sought to engage with a range of industry stakeholders and civil society, as appropriate, during the course of the e-Privacy Regulation negotiations,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
Familiar arguments
In emails sent between July 2017 and October 2018, Facebook encouraged Ireland to water down the e-privacy bill, arguing that data protection rules would hinder the fight against child pornography online.
Facebooks representative wrote in the emails that if the social media giant were to be forced to obtain user consent before accessing online communications, it would prevent the company from tracking offenders and illegal material.
“Facebook scans communications data to keep people safe when theyre using our services, as part of our efforts to detect child pornographic material; child grooming activities,” one of the emails said.
In Brussels in December 2018, Irelands deputy ambassador to the EU, Joseph Hackett, echoed Facebooks arguments during a public intervention at the Telecom Council, where EU ministers discuss European legislative proposals.
Facebook recently encouraged Ireland to water down the e-privacy bill | Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images
“One of our key concerns is that the text … currently would represent a significant reduction in our existing ability to prevent the spread of online illegal child imagery,” Hackett said during the meeting. “Our citizens frankly would not understand if legislation that is designed to protect their privacy ended up undermining existing safeguards in this area.”
As part of the same lobbying efforts, the tech giant also told Ireland that obligations to obtain user consent would deprive consumers of the free services to which they have become accustomed.
That argument was also echoed by Ireland in Brussels. “The final text should recognize that there are instances where our citizens have come to expect a certain level of service,” Michael DArcy, minister of state at Irelands Department of Finance, said at a June 2018 meeting of the Telecom Council.
“We have not yet achieved the right balance between ensuringRead More
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