Facebook data privacy questioned by Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden

Facebook has some explaining to do in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Data protection agencies in those countries want the Palo Alto company to detail what it does with the information it collects from its more than 750 million users. "This is a common action to obtain better knowledge of how personal information is handled by the world's largest social network," said Hans-Olof Lindblom, the Swedish Data Inspection Board's chief attorney. A list of 45 questions regarding data collection and privacy has been sent to Facebook by Norway's data protection agency on behalf of respective authorities in the four Nordic countries. The questions cover what Facebook does with photos uploaded to its network, "the consequences of clicking the 'like' button to comment on posted items, and the sharing of data that can help determine a user's name and address with third parties." The four nations also want to know what Facebook does with data from a user identifying religious beliefs and sexual preferences or when he or she writes on a friend's "Facebook wall."