LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US social media giant Facebook been fined by Spanish data authorities for illegally collecting and storing personal information from users for advertising purposes.
While the €1.2m sum of the fine is relatively miniscule for Mark Zuckerberg's company, the decision could be a warning shot to social media firms about how they deal with users' data in the future.

The Spanish Agency for the Protection of Data (AEPD) said on Monday the fine was given out after the investigation ran alongside similar operations in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

"The agency notes that Facebook used data, even specially protected data, with the aim of publicity without asking the consent of the users," the AEPD said.

"Data relating to ideology, sex, religious beliefs, personal interests and navigation were taken directly, through the interaction of its services or from third-party pages without clearly informing the user about the use of such data."

The agency added that Facebook also broke the law by storing users' details for up to 17 months after they had closed their accounts.

Facebook's privacy policy was not clear enough and the company must do more to make its users aware of how it uses their data.

"Facebook does not obtain unmistakable, specific and informed consent on how it uses its data, as the current information that it offers is not adequate."

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