Unlawful data processing as an abuse of a dominant market position (Meta Platforms Inc v Bundeskartellamt)

Article summary

Information Law analysis: The Court of Justice's judgment in Meta Platforms Inc v Bundeskartellamt has significant implications at the intersection of data protection law and competition law. In a notable departure from the case of Asnef-Equifax et al v Asociación de Usuarios de Servicios Bancarios, EU:C:2006:734. 4 Asnef-Equifax, Case C-238/05, the Court of Justice decided that a national competition authority can examine compliance with data protection law to determine whether an infringement of data protection law had contributed to a breach of competition law. The Court of Justice also set out strict requirements for legal bases of processing for personalised advertising. In relation to special category data, it confirmed broad application of Article 9 of the EU GDPR and the requirements that must be met to consider such data ‘manifestly made public’ in the social media context. Written by Anna Rawlinson (CIPP/E, CIPM), senior associate at Fieldfisher LLP.