– I was to secure my account, and ended up losing access to personal data that has been collected since 2007. This Easter, Ingvild Blomsø was to turn on two-factor authentication to strengthen the security of her Facebook profile. This means that you will be sent a code, or use another app, to add an extra step in the login process. But in the process, something went wrong. The next time she logged in to her account, she did not receive the additional code. – The account is so secure that I do not get in myself, she says. Dead or erratic? Over two months later, she still can neither log in nor delete the account. Blomsø says that she has, among other things, contacted the Data Inspectorate, Slettmeg.no and talked to colleagues in the IT company she works for. She is frustrated with the amount of personal data that is now going astray. Being locked out without the possibility of deleting the account is first and foremost annoying, says Blomsø. Photo: Camilla Salas-Gulliksen / news – My data is now entirely in the hands of someone else, paradoxically because I wanted to secure them, she says. After spending several hours digging into Facebook’s guidelines, she finally found a digital form that might be the solution to the problem. It seems that her only option to have the account deleted is either to be declared dead, or to get a certificate from a healthcare professional. – So I contacted a doctor who might be able to help me, she says. Blomsø found this digital form in Facebook’s help center. Photo: Screenshot of facebook.com – Just over that you have to take such drastic action Previously, it was possible to send in a photo of valid identification to have accounts you no longer had access to deleted. After months of frustration, Blomsø finally booked a doctor’s appointment to hear if they could help her regain control of the account. According to Blomsø, the doctor himself had expressed that it would be demanding for him to lose access to Facebook, and it was no problem for him to write a certificate that could hopefully get her out of frustration. He assured that he would write this certificate with caution. She has not yet received the certificate. – It is just over that you have to take such drastic action – and connect to the health service – if you want to regain control. Why can one not e.g. use BankID to identify yourself? asks Blomsø. – And if you get such a certificate, there is no guarantee that it actually works. Even if she creates new passwords, the login process always stops when Facebook asks for the authentication code. Photo: Camilla Salas-Gulliksen / news – If you feel you are losing control – A lot of data accumulates over 15 years, so you may feel that you lose control over large parts of your digital life, says Anders Ballangrud, senior communications consultant at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. He says this is a known problem which is basically a matter between the individual person and the company. He says that they receive a number of inquiries from individuals who have lost access to their social media. – It can be experienced seriously enough for an individual, and also annoying and awkward, he says. By and large, most conflicts can be resolved by contacting the company directly. Login problems on social media are not uncommon, says Ballangrud at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. Photo: Ilja C. Hendel But if it does not work, you still have some rights as a consumer, according to Ballangrud. He says that he does not know Meta’s methods for verifying that the owner of the account is the right person. – Meta is in any case obliged to comply with all the obligations in the GDPR, which among other things means that they must facilitate that users can access their own data and have information about themselves deleted, he says. – Many contact us Karoline Hultman Tømte is the professional manager at the Norwegian Center for Information Security, which is behind slettmeg.no. She says that they also know the problem well. -Very many users contact us because they do not get through with Facebook, and feel powerless, says Tømte. According to her, the waiting time to have an account restored is long, and she says that for many it is challenging to lose access to photos, chat history, friend lists, memories and history. – Another thing is the uncertainty when you do not know who has access to and controls this information, and what it can be used for. This can lead to stress and be very uncomfortable for the person concerned, and is a violation of privacy, she says. Facebook and Meta have a responsibility to take care of their users and ensure that the services work as they should, says professional manager at Norsis, Karoline Hultman Tømte. Photo: Norsis – Use the help centers According to communications manager Camilla Nordsted in Meta, who runs Facebook, it is difficult to say exactly what has happened to Blomsø’s account. In an e-mail to news, she writes the following. – We invest significantly to ensure that our platforms are safe and secure for everyone who uses them. We also try to help our users as well as possible by offering a number of tools and security functions, via our help centers, she explains. Meta owns several social platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, and has over 3 billion users. – We are constantly working to improve the help functions that we offer our users, but recognize that we can always get better, she says. Reply from Facebook It is difficult to say what may have happened specifically with this account without further details, but at our help center you can read more about what you can do if you have problems logging in to your Facebook account. If you choose to delete your account, your profile, photos, posts and videos and everything else you have added will also be deleted for good. Meta’s social platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, are free platforms with more than three billion users, and we invest significantly to ensure that our platforms are safe and secure for everyone who uses them. We also try to help our users as well as possible by offering a number of tools and security features, via our help centers. We are constantly working to improve the help features we offer our users, but recognize that we can always get better. news has not received answers to all the questions that were asked of Meta.
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