Get your Data!
Make an Access Request at Facebook!
According to European data protection law every individual has the right to get a copy of all personal data a company holds about him (right to access). This law is applicable to Facebook too. Every user with a residence outside of the US and Canada has a contract with “Facebook Ireland Limited”, based in Dublin, Ireland. You have a right to access no matter if you are a EU citizen and not matter if you have a contract with Facebook as long as you have your residence outside of the US or Canada.
Facebook has a well hidden page, where you can send them an access request. Access requests sent by regular mail were so far generally ignored.
Requesting your Data - Step by Step1. Preparation
- Scan or take a picture of a government ID (e.g. driver license, national ID, passport)
Note: Facebook needs your ID in order to assure that you (and not someone else) is requesting your data.2. Fill out Facebook’s form
- If you used a wrong name or birthdate on facebook, you have to correct it before you request your data.
- Visit facebook’s access request page (link)
- Fill out the form and upload the picture of your government ID.
Note: As the law you can cite “Section 4 DPA” or “Art. 12 Directive 95/46/EG”!
Note: If the Online form does not work for you, you can also sent a letter to Facebook.3. Insist on your Rights
Facebook tries to get rid of people requesting their data. Therefore the first response is often an e-mail with the information on how to log onto facebook. Of course you can not see all the data that is used in the background this way (e.g. meta data, deleted data). Sometimes it is necessary to send two or three e-mails, or it is even necessary to make a complaint to the Irish Data Protection Commissioner.4. Recive a CD
As soon as facebook gives in, you will get a CD holding your data and a short letter. According to Irish regulation Facebook has 40 days form the initial request to deliver the CD. On the CD you will usually finda a PDF that holds a lot, but not all your personal data. You can expect that the PDF will be more than 1.000 pages long and more than hundred megabyte in size.
You will be able to get an idea of the amount of personal data facebook is holding about you. Some of the data will be data that you removed long ago where you did not even know that it still existed. If this is true for the data you are receiving, we would appreciate it, if you would contact us!
Note: Facebook is now in fact ignoring the right to access.
Facebook is sending out e-mails in which they claim that you can download all data via the “account settings” page on their web page. In fact you only get a minimal amount of data when downloading this file.
If you did not get full access within 40 days of your access request you may file a complaint with the Irish authorities. Please note that the Irish authorities have limited resources, so you may also consider waiting for the outcome of the authorities investigation.
We put together an explanation on how to file a complaint, please follow this instruction when filing a complaint.
2011-10-25
europe-v-facebook.org
