LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – YouTube is reportedly set to face criminal charges in Europe for allegedly spying on users.
The Alphabet-owned video streaming platform recently introduced restrictions on ad-blockers on the service, preventing users who used specific browser extensions from viewing videos.
According to reports, privacy consultant Alexander Hanff has filed a complaint against YouTube under Ireland’s computer abuse law for detecting ad-blockers on users’ computers, which he deems equivalent to spying on citizens in the EU.
In addition, Hanff has also filed a civil complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission.
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YouTube began cracking down on ad-blockers globally last month, pushing users to either allow ads on the video streaming platform or opt for the company’s YouTube Premium subscription.
Days after informing users that the use of ad-blockers would not be permitted on the service, the company raised the price of YouTube Premium subscriptions in seven countries.
Existing subscribers have a three-month grace period before they will be charged the new subscription fee, according to the company.
Hanff believes that the script used by YouTube to detect ad-blockers was deployed with one purpose: to monitor his behavior without his knowledge or authorization, deeming it spyware.
Ireland’s National Police have reportedly acknowledged Hanff’s complaint and sought more information.
A report suggests that a privacy consultant has filed a criminal complaint against a search giant due to regulators’ poor track record of enforcing the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (or ePrivacy Directive) that came into force in 2002.
The consultant had earlier filed a civil complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission against the video streaming platform’s new browser interrogation service.
Google must now provide a response to the commission regarding the claims made by the privacy consultant.