Germany asks Facebook to back off

A German regulator has asked Facebook to disable its photo tagging software, warning it could violate European privacy laws. The New York Times reports the regulator thinks the facial recognition feature counts as unauthorized data collection.

As you might expect, Facebook is confident it’s not doing anything wrong.

From the NY Times:

“We will consider the points the Hamburg Data Protection Authority have made about the photo tag suggest feature but firmly reject any claim that we are not meeting our obligations under European Union data protection law,” said a Facebook spokesman in Berlin.

The regulator could fine Facebook up to $429,000.