The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, potentially necessitating a significant overhaul of their data collection practices in Europe. The court supported Germany’s anti-cartel watchdog, which argued that data privacy concerns should be taken into account in antitrust cases. One of the main issues addressed was Meta’s ability to link data across platforms, enabling targeted advertising, which forms a crucial part of its revenue generation.
The German watchdog prohibited Meta from combining personal data obtained from Facebook with information collected from Instagram or WhatsApp, claiming that it constituted an abuse of Meta’s dominant market position in Germany.
The European court stated that cartel offices were entitled to conduct investigations under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), leading to potential repercussions for the data economy’s business models.
Andreas Mundt, the head of the anti-cartel watchdog, highlighted the far-reaching impact of the judgment on these models. The court’s ruling echoed previous decisions against Meta and other major tech companies, emphasizing that the US company must obtain explicit consent to collect substantial amounts of personal data and rejecting any circumventions proposed by Meta. Consequently, Meta is likely to seek alternative methods for data gathering in Europe.
In response to the ruling, Meta stated that it is evaluating the court’s decision and will provide further comments in the future. Privacy advocacy group noyb praised the ruling, emphasizing that it reinforces the principle that Meta cannot bypass the GDPR.
Max Schrems, a representative of the group, noted that Meta will now be required to obtain proper consent and cannot exploit its dominant position to coerce users into agreeing to unwanted terms. The judgment may also have implications for other major platforms, such as Google, which operate under a similar ad-tech business model.
