European officials have launched a “preliminary” investigation into Facebook and Google in order to determine how people’s information is used for ad purposes. The Mercury News reports: The European Commission, which oversees antitrust issues for the European Unions, said it has opened a preliminary investigation into Facebook and Google in order to determine if the two companies are adhering to new regulations meant to give individuals more power over how their personal information is used by social networks and other tech companies. That law, called General Data Protection Law (GDPR), went into effect across the European Union in 2018. “The Commission has sent out questionnaires as part of our preliminary investigations into Google’s and Facebook’s data practices,” said an EC spokesperson in a statement given to this news organization. “These investigations concern the way data is gathered processed used and monetized, including for advertising purposes. The preliminary investigations are ongoing.” A Google spokesperson said in a statement, “We use data to make our services more useful and to show relevant advertising, and we give people the controls to manage, delete or transfer their data. We will continue to engage with the Commission and others on this important discussion for our industry.”

Facebook didn’t comment on the matter.

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