This past week a German court ruled that commercial websites can't embed the network's iconic "Like" button without clearly warning users that clicking it could transfer their data straight to Facebook.

Only days before, the country's competition watchdog launched an investigation saying Facebook may be abusing its dominance over the social media market by offering users unfair terms. In other words, it's collecting enormous amounts of personal data for advertising, and users aren't in on it.

According to Justus Haucap, head of the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics, Facebook trades in user information the same way a traditional monopoly trades in hard currency — except with user data substituting for high prices.

"This is at the heart of the German competition authority's investigation," he said. "Is Facebook asking for too much?"