Facebook changes terms to show it makes money from data, says EU

Facebook has changed the fine print in its terms of service to clearly explain to users that it makes money by using their data, the European Commission said Tuesday.

The social media giant modified its terms and conditions to better inform users what they are signing up for, the commission said. The new wording will clearly explain how Facebook uses the data it collects on users to develop profiling activities and target advertising to “finance” the company, it said.

The company made the changes after discussions with the commission and European consumer protection authorities. EU regulators stepped up scrutiny of Facebook’s terms after the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, in which data on 87 million Facebook users was allegedly improperly harvested. They also want tech companies to bring their terms in line with European consumer law.