The Federal Cartel Office can also check compliance with data protection: According to this ECJ ruling, it was okay that the authority had forbidden the Meta Group from collecting user data without express consent.
The data collection at the meta group, which was formerly called Facebook, cannot go on like this. This emerges from the judgment of the European Court of Justice. The ECJ has doubts that all the information that Meta collects is strictly necessary for the network.
Data collection also outside of Facebook and Co.
The court is particularly bothered by the fact that information is also collected that shows what political opinions a person has, what religion they belong to or what sexual orientation they have.
The judges are also critical of the fact that this information is also collected when you access websites outside of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Because as soon as you go to pages that have an interface to Facebook, such as a “Like” button, it is registered with the group.
The ECJ has now ruled that anyone who calls up a website does not automatically give their consent for the whole world to know. According to the General Data Protection Regulation, a lot depends on what a user has allowed. Sensitive data may only be collected if the user has given permission.
According to the judgment, Meta may only access websites outside of Facebook and Co. if the users have clearly approved it beforehand. This means that the use of the network must not depend on ticking certain boxes. If necessary, Meta must prove that the users actually had a choice.
triumph for that Federal Cartel Office
The ECJ judgment is a complete success for the German Federal Cartel Office. The authority had messed with Facebook in 2019 and banned the group from collecting data without the really voluntary consent of the users. The background was that Facebook clearly dominated the market for social networks.
Facebook went to court and was particularly bothered by the fact that it was not a data protection officer who made conditions, but the authority that is supposed to ensure free competition.
Federal Cartel Office may intervene in the event of abuse
As the top judges of the EU have now announced, not only data protection officers are responsible for controlling data collection. The Federal Cartel Office can also intervene when it comes to determining abuse of a dominant position on the market. It can be assumed that it would work with the data protection officers.
Dispute goes back to German courts
After this clear positioning of the European judges, the dispute goes back to the German courts. These must be based on what was specified in Luxembourg. The meta group will probably have to ask all of its customers on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp again whether they agree to the data being collected. The users must be free to choose, i.e. they must also be able to refuse it.
Case number: C-252/21