Facebook deleted EU facial recognition data, regulators say
Facebook has deleted all European facial recognition data, the Irish data protection commissioner and a German data protection regulator confirmed independently Thursday after reviewing parts of the social network's source code.
"We recently reviewed the source code and execution process used in the deletion process and can confirm that we were satisfied with the processes used by Facebook to delete the templates in line with its commitment," said Ciara O'Sullivan, spokeswoman for the Office of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), in an email. Facebook's international headquarters is in Ireland, making the company subject to Irish, and European Union, data protection laws (and also to Ireland's advantageous corporate tax rate).
The social network announced last September it would delete all facial recognition data it stores about its European users, going beyond recommendations made by the Irish DPC to adjust its privacy policy's. Facebook said at the time it had already turned off the facial recognition feature for new users in the E.U., and said it would delete templates for existing users by Oct. 15.
