Facebook Germany GmbH – €51,000 Fine (Germany, 2019)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
Facebook Germany was fined EUR 51,000 for failing to notify the local data protection authority about its data protection officer. This case highlights the importance of following procedural requirements under GDPR, even if no user data was mishandled. Businesses should ensure they comply with all notification obligations to avoid fines.
What happened
Facebook Germany failed to notify the Hamburg data protection authority about its appointed data protection officer.
Who was affected
Facebook Germany GmbH, as part of the larger Facebook group, was affected by this oversight.
What the authority found
The data protection authority fined Facebook Germany for not notifying them about the data protection officer, despite the appointment being made.
Why this matters
This case underscores the importance of procedural compliance with GDPR requirements, such as notifying authorities about data protection officers. Companies should review their administrative processes to avoid similar fines.
GDPR Articles Cited
Whereas Facebook Ireland had appointed a data proteciton officer for all group companies located in the EU, this appontment was not notfied to the DPA Hamburg, competent for Facebook Germany GmbH. The fine was calculated on the basis of the turnover of the German branch (EUR 35 million). Relevant factors for the calculation were i.a. that the omitted notification was immediately made up for, Facebook acted negligently and did not violate the duty to appoint a data protection officer but only the notification obligation.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Facebook Germany GmbH in DE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
1 January 2019
Authority
Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz
Fine Amount
€51,000
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-203
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Facebook Germany GmbH - Germany (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
Last updated: