Germany: Federal Cartel Office investigation into Facebook over alleged excessive data processing as breach of competition law

Progress

Current status
concluded
10 Oct 2024 concluded
04 Jul 2023 in force
20 Sep 2022 under deliberation
24 Mar 2021 under investigation
24 Mar 2021 under deliberation
23 Jun 2020 in force
26 Aug 2019 under appeal
06 Feb 2019 in force

Scope

Implementers
Germany
Policy Area
Competition
Policy Instrument
Unilateral conduct regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
platform intermediary: user-generated content
Government Branch
executive
judiciary
Government Body
competition authority
court
supreme court
Implementation Level
national

Timeline of events

10 Oct 2024
concluded

Closed FCO investigation into Facebook over excessive data processing as breach of competition law

On 10 October 2024, the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) closed its investigation into Meta (formerly Facebook). The investigation mandated changes in user data processing practices, particularly regarding the combination of user data from Facebook with …

Source
Event type investigation
Action type closure
Government branch executive
Government body competition authority
04 Jul 2023
in force

Issued CJEU ruling on Meta/Facebook v. FCO on competition authority competence regarding the GDPR (C-252/21)

On 4 July 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its ruling in case C‑252/21 (Meta/Facebook v. the Federal Cartel Office. The case originated when the the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) prohibited Meta Platforms from processing …

Source
Event type investigation
Action type ruling
Government branch judiciary
Government body court
20 Sep 2022
under deliberation

Issued Advocate General's Opinion in Case on competition authority competence regarding GDPR

On 20 September 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Advocate General's Opinion in case C‑252/21 was published. The case originated in Germany between the the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) and Meta Platforms. The FCO prohibited M…

Source
Event type investigation
Action type opinion
Government branch judiciary
Government body supreme court
24 Mar 2021
under investigation

Referral to the European Court of Justice

On 24 March 2021, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (DHRC) suspended the proceedings in the case Facebook v. Bundeskartellamt and referred the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for interpretation of the General Data Protection Regulatio…

Source
Event type investigation
Action type interim ruling
Government branch judiciary
Government body court
24 Mar 2021
under deliberation

Referral to the European Court of Justice

On 24 March 2021, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (DHRC) suspended the proceedings in the case Facebook v. the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) and referred the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for interpretation of the General Data Prote…

Source
Event type investigation
Action type announcement
Government branch judiciary
Government body supreme court
23 Jun 2020
in force

Upholding of FCO decision qualifying external data collection as breach of competition law by supreme court

Supreme court overturns the court of appeals and upholds the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) ruling that excessive data collection and combination constitutes a breach of competition law.

Source
Event type investigation
Action type ruling
Government branch judiciary
Government body supreme court
26 Aug 2019
under appeal

Rejection of FCO decision qualifying external data collection as breach of competition law by court of appeals

Court of appeals suspends the application of the the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) ruling that excessive data collection and combination constitutes a breach of competition law.

Source
Event type investigation
Action type appeal
Government branch judiciary
Government body court
06 Feb 2019
in force

FCO decision qualifying external data collection as breach of competition law

The Federal Cartel Office (FCO) rules that excessive data collection by platforms (i.c. Facebook) outside of their own realm (i.c. on Instagram/Whatsapp) and combination of this data constitutes an abuse of dominant position under competition law, i…

Source
Event type investigation
Action type ruling
Government branch executive
Government body competition authority