Meta Platforms Ireland Limited – CJEU Judgment (Austria, 2024)
CJEU judgment — not a DPA enforcement action
This is a Court of Justice ruling, not an enforcement action by a data protection authority. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
The Court of Justice ruled that Meta Platforms Ireland did not have a valid reason to use a user's personal data for targeted advertising. This matters because it highlights the importance of user consent when handling personal information. Companies need to be careful about how they use data, especially for ads.
What happened
Meta tracked a user's personal data for targeted ads without a valid legal basis.
Who was affected
A Facebook user in the European Union whose data was used for advertising without proper consent.
What the authority found
The Court held that Meta lacked a valid legal basis for processing the user's personal data, violating GDPR requirements.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that companies must obtain clear consent from users before processing their data. It sets a precedent that could impact how tech companies handle user data in the future.
GDPR Articles Cited
View original scraped data
Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.
In 2018, Meta Platforms Ireland (“controller”) presented new Facebook terms of service to its users in the European Union, with a view of obtaining their consent. The data subject, a Facebook user, accepted the new terms of service presented by the controller. The data subject received advertisement for a female politician on the basis of the analysis that he was similar to other “customers” who “liked” her. He also regularly received advertising aimed at homosexuals and invitations to corresponding events. The data subject had publically referred to his homosexuality, but had never mentioned his sexual orientation on Facebook, nor published any sensitive data. He hadn’t authorised the controller to use the fields in his profile relating to his relationship status, employer, job title or education for the purposes of targeted advertising either. Those advertisements and invitations were not based directly on his sexual orientation or his “friends” on Facebook, but on an analysis of their particular interests. The data subject claimed that the controller recorded all data relating to him, including those obtained through third parties or plug-ins, and stored them for an indefinite period. Subsequently, during a panel discussion, the data subject referred to his sexual orientation during a speech aimed at criticizing the allegedly unlawful processing by the controller of data relating to his sexual orientation. The data subject therefore brought an action before the Landesgericht für Zivilsachen Wien (Regional Court for Civil Matters, Vienna, Austria) seeking enforcement, a declaration and an injunction concerning the allegedly unlawful processing of his personal data. His action was dismissed at first instance on 30 June 2020 and, on appeal, by the Oberlandesgericht Wien (Higher Regional Court, Vienna, Austria) on 7 December 2020. The data subject therefore lodged an appeal with the Oberster Gerichtshof (Supreme Court). The latter referred a total of four questio
Outcome
CJEU Judgment
A judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union, typically on a preliminary reference from a national court.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Meta Platforms Ireland Limited in AT
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Judgment Date
4 October 2024
Authority
Court of Justice of the European Union
GDPRhub ID
gdprhub-cjeu-7836About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Meta Platforms Ireland Limited - Austria (2024). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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