Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1077-1103 | European Forum Insight of 8 January 2024 | (Series Information) European Papers (News of dd month yyyy) | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction - II. From German Competition Decision to EU Judgement - II.1....

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Peter J. van de Waerdt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Papers (www.europeanpapers.eu) 2024-01-01
Series:European Papers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/europeanforum/meta-bundeskartellamt-something-old-something-new
_version_ 1797363737297944576
author Peter J. van de Waerdt
author_facet Peter J. van de Waerdt
author_sort Peter J. van de Waerdt
collection DOAJ
description (Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1077-1103 | European Forum Insight of 8 January 2024 | (Series Information) European Papers (News of dd month yyyy) | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction - II. From German Competition Decision to EU Judgement - II.1. Bundeskartellamt Decision B6-22/16 of 6 February 2019 - II.2. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 July 2023 - III. Comment - III.1. Something new: relations between competition law and data protection - III.2. Something borrowed: Meta v Bundeskartellamt and the European Commission - III.3. Something old: arts 6 and 9 GDPR - IV. Concluding remark. | (Abstract) Meta v Bundeskartellamt is the culmination of an issue years in the making: the relation between data protection and competition. In contention is the Bka’s finding that Meta’s practice of combining personal data across its many services, in addition to data collected through the integration of its services into third-party websites and apps, constitutes a violation of competition law. In this case, the ECJ holds that a competition authority is at liberty to consider GDPR violations as a “vital clue” to a finding of abuse of dominance, provided it first requested the cooperation of the competent data protection authorities. Furthermore, it finds that, apart from consent, no legal bases from the GDPR justify Facebook’s data processing. Through the principle of sincere cooperation, the Court opens the door to further integration of data protection and competition, acknowledging that data collection is at the core of digital market companies’ business models. Although the case is based on German national law, there is reason to believe that the same line of reasoning could also apply to the European Commission, thus expanding its options in digital market oversight. In contrast, the Court’s analysis of the GDPR is not quite as innovative, but still helpfully lists and reaffirms existing law.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T16:25:25Z
format Article
id doaj.art-7b8120b2f6b44d79804202de4e3b2bac
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2499-8249
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T16:25:25Z
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher European Papers (www.europeanpapers.eu)
record_format Article
series European Papers
spelling doaj.art-7b8120b2f6b44d79804202de4e3b2bac2024-01-07T09:59:34ZengEuropean Papers (www.europeanpapers.eu)European Papers2499-82492024-01-012023 831077110310.15166/2499-8249/703Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something NewPeter J. van de Waerdt0University of Groningen(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1077-1103 | European Forum Insight of 8 January 2024 | (Series Information) European Papers (News of dd month yyyy) | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction - II. From German Competition Decision to EU Judgement - II.1. Bundeskartellamt Decision B6-22/16 of 6 February 2019 - II.2. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 July 2023 - III. Comment - III.1. Something new: relations between competition law and data protection - III.2. Something borrowed: Meta v Bundeskartellamt and the European Commission - III.3. Something old: arts 6 and 9 GDPR - IV. Concluding remark. | (Abstract) Meta v Bundeskartellamt is the culmination of an issue years in the making: the relation between data protection and competition. In contention is the Bka’s finding that Meta’s practice of combining personal data across its many services, in addition to data collected through the integration of its services into third-party websites and apps, constitutes a violation of competition law. In this case, the ECJ holds that a competition authority is at liberty to consider GDPR violations as a “vital clue” to a finding of abuse of dominance, provided it first requested the cooperation of the competent data protection authorities. Furthermore, it finds that, apart from consent, no legal bases from the GDPR justify Facebook’s data processing. Through the principle of sincere cooperation, the Court opens the door to further integration of data protection and competition, acknowledging that data collection is at the core of digital market companies’ business models. Although the case is based on German national law, there is reason to believe that the same line of reasoning could also apply to the European Commission, thus expanding its options in digital market oversight. In contrast, the Court’s analysis of the GDPR is not quite as innovative, but still helpfully lists and reaffirms existing law.https://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/europeanforum/meta-bundeskartellamt-something-old-something-newmeta v bundeskartellamtcompetition lawdata protection lawdigital marketssincere cooperationgdpr
spellingShingle Peter J. van de Waerdt
Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New
European Papers
meta v bundeskartellamt
competition law
data protection law
digital markets
sincere cooperation
gdpr
title Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New
title_full Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New
title_fullStr Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New
title_full_unstemmed Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New
title_short Meta v Bundeskartellamt: Something Old, Something New
title_sort meta v bundeskartellamt something old something new
topic meta v bundeskartellamt
competition law
data protection law
digital markets
sincere cooperation
gdpr
url https://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/europeanforum/meta-bundeskartellamt-something-old-something-new
work_keys_str_mv AT peterjvandewaerdt metavbundeskartellamtsomethingoldsomethingnew