Facebook Inc (FB, quote) is caught up in several regulatory battles across Europe over the social media site's privacy practices.

Regulators in Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are all looking into issues that they say may put users' information at risk. However, Facebook is fighting back against the cases, saying that their shortsighted views fail to see the larger impact that rulings against Facebook would have on the site's hundreds of millions of users throughout the continent.

Upcoming Ruling

Facebook's biggest concern at the moment is a case in Belgium, in which the nation's Privacy Commission is investigating whether or not the firm collects users' web-browsing habits without sufficient consent. Facebook says the practices in question are used in order to keep machine-driven browsers from accessing the site by hacking into a user's Facebook page. If ordered to change the way it stores "likes" due to the outcome of the case, the firm said Belgian users will be subjected to a barrage of security checks every time they access the site.

Identity Questions

In Germany, regulators are arguing that users should be permitted to use pseudonyms to protect their identities. However, Facebook says this could set a dangerous precedent and that the site only allows users to communicate using their real identity to ensure that people know who they are sharing their information with.

European Privacy Crackdown

The barrage of legal cases regarding privacy have become a headache for Facebook executives, who say their headquarters in Ireland should make the firm responsible only to regulations from that country. However, the EU's most recent efforts to shape up its digital market has included a push toward stricter privacy laws and mistrust stemming from Edward Snowden's revelations about U.S. government spying practices has caused many to question how safe their information is in American firms' hands.

Content courtesy of Benzinga written by Laura Brodbeck, Benzinga Staff Writer