GC - T‑451/20 - Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission
CJEU - T‑451/20 Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, v. European Commission, Federal Republic of Germany | |
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Court: | CJEU |
Jurisdiction: | European Union |
Relevant Law: | Article 6(1)(c) GDPR 52(1) Charther Article 7 Charter Article 8 ECHR |
Decided: | 24.05.2023 |
Parties: | Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd European Commission |
Case Number/Name: | T‑451/20 Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, v. European Commission, Federal Republic of Germany |
European Case Law Identifier: | ECLI:EU:T:2023:276 |
Reference from: | |
Language: | 24 EU Languages |
Original Source: | Judgement |
Initial Contributor: | n/a |
Meta seeked for an annulment of a decision by the European Commission alleging, inter alia, unjustified interference with its privacy or that of members of its staff or of other persons. The General Court rejected Meta’s claims.
English Summary
Facts
The European Commission made information requests to Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd (Meta) on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Following the requests, the Commission adopted a further decision under Article 18(3) of Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty.
Under the decision, the Commission requested Meta to provide, inter alia, a number of internal documents meeting certain cumulative criteria. The Commission proposed a separate procedure for sensitive documents which, according to Meta, contained only personal information wholly unconnected with its commercial activities. Those documents would be examined first in a virtual data room and placed on the file only after having been deemed relevant for the investigation. Moreover, Meta had the possibility to redact documents containing personal information.
Meta challenged sought for the annulment of the decision requiring it to provide the information before the General Court.
Essentially, Meta relied on four pleas in law – of which one was Meta alleging, inter alia, infringements of the right to privacy. Meta claimed that, by requiring the production of numerous irrelevant documents of a private nature, the decision infringes, inter alia, its right to privacy and that of its staff and third parties, as protected by Article 7 of the Charter and Article 8 ECHR. Furthermore, Meta argued, inter alia, that the Commision’s interference is not provided for by law. Meta claimed that if it would be required to provide information which Meta argued to be irrelevant for the purposes of the investigation, it would contravene Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.
The Commission contended that the Court should declare Meta’s head of claim inadmissible and dismiss the action.
Holding
The Court examined whether the contested decision complies with Article 7 of the Charter and the conditions set out in Article 52(1) of the Charter.
Article 52(1) of the Charter provides that any limitation on the exercise of the rights and freedoms recognised by the Charter must be provided for by law and respect the essence of those rights and freedoms.
According to the Court, Meta cannot question the fact that the limitation to the right to privacy would not be provided by law in this case: the Commission adopted its decision on the basis of Article 18(3) of Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty which gives the Commission the power to adopt decisions requesting such information.
After an exhaustive assessment in light of Article 52(1) of the Charter, the Court held that Meta had not established that the decision constituted an unjustified interference with its privacy or that of members of its staff or of other persons. The Court rejected Meta's claims in this regard.
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