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Quick briefs

  • Meta challenged the EDPB’s opinion 
    On 12 August 2024, the action brought by Meta Ireland against the European Data Protection Board of 27 June 2024 was published. The company asks to annual ‘Opinion 08/2024 on Valid Consent in the Context of Consent or Pay Models Implemented by Large Online Platforms adopted under Article 64(2) GDPR’ and to be compensated for the damages caused by this Opinion as well as the costs of the proceedings. Its allegation includes (i) the illegality and inapplicability of Article 64(2) GDPR according to Article 277 Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, (ii) the violation of the Opinion against Article 19(1) Treaty of EU by misinterpreting the judgement in Case C-252/21 and Articles 16, 20, 41(1), 41(2)(a), and 52(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU by failing to strike a fair balance between conflicting fundamental rights, to comply with principle of equal treatment, to act as an impartial body and to respect the right to be heard of Meta, and by introducing a novel and incoherent obligation not provided by the GDPR, respectively. 
  • EDPS’ assessment of the draft of Framework Convention on AI 
    Yesterday 11 March 2024, the EU Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) released its statement about the draft of the Framework Convention on AI, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. EDPS considers that the framework should be consistent with EU values, protect individuals’ fundamental rights, freedoms, and provide clear, strong safeguards for the subjects affected by the AI-based applications. The framework also should be flexible to accommodate the specificities of national legal systems but it must maintain the key objectives as ‘the future binding legal instrument’, including ‘ensuring a common legal framework, a level playing field for AI actors in EU and beyond’. The EDPS expressed its concerns about the limitation of the framework’s scope to the ‘activities undertaken by public authorities, entities would contradict the overall policy objective of the Framework Convention’ and the ‘absence of red lines’ in the draft prohibiting AI application posing unacceptable levels of risk.  
  • EDPS: EC violates data protection regulations by using Microsoft 365
    Yesterday, the Eu Data Protection Supervisor released its conclusion of an investigation into the Eu Commission’s use of Microsoft 365. Accordingly, the latter has infringed the Regulation of 2018/1725 regarding the ‘transfers of personal data outside the EU/ European Economic Area (EEA)’. As the controller, ‘the Commission did not sufficiently specify what types of personal data are to be collected and for which explicit and specified purposes when using the software’ and did not comply with the obligations related to data processing, including transfers of personal data through the use of Microsoft 365 tools. 
  • Meta brought action against EDPB (Case T-8/24)
    On 8 Jan 2024, Meta Ireland (Facebook) submitted the case against the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), regarding the latter’s Urgent Binding Decision 01/2023 at the request of the Norwegian supervisory authority (Datatilsynet) of 27 October 2023 in respect of processing personal data for behavioural advertising purposes by Meta. The platform brought the allegations of excess of the EDPB’s competence under art. 66 the GDPR and its obligation to respect the right to “good administration” according to art. 41 the EU Charter. Furthermore, the company also claimed that art. 66(2) GDPR unlawful and invalid in accordance with art. 41, 47 the EU Charter, art. 6 the EU Convention of Human Rights. This will be the rare case that the duty of the EU authorities of “good administration” is challenged. What a bold move by Meta! 
  • Facebook disfavours the news in the U.S. and Australia
    Yesterday, 29 February 2024, Meta announced its deprecation of Facebook News in the U.S. and Australia in early April this year. This move is following the same deprecation in the UK, France and Germany last December. The users can still read the news on Facebook’s feed in these countries. The platform will not cease the access of the news publishers to their accounts, pages and their posts of news article links, content. They will continue to execute the existing agreements with the publishers until their expiration. The company reveals the drop of users’ views of the news and political content, about over 80% last year and around only less than 3% of the audiences read the news in their Facebook feed. 
  • Database of personal information sold in enforcement proceedings 
    On 22 February 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union released the Advocate General’s opinion on the sale of databases containing personal data within an enforcement proceedings which is considered to be lawful. According to his opinion, the GDPR governs the operations of the objectives that the court enforcement officer estimates the value of given databases and sells them by public auction. The officer in charge shall be the data controller. Furthermore, the proceedings must produce the “necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to achieve one of the objectives of general interest pursued by [the GDPR]”. 
  • EC takes actions against Tiktok 
    The European Commission initiates proceedings to investigate the alleged breaches of the platform’s obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU took this decision after its early investigation, TikTok’s risk assessment report and responses to the Commission’s information requests from last year. The allegations include the negative effects of the platform design, algorithmic systems, causing “behavioural addictions, harming children’s physical, mental well-being, and failing to verify their age, conduct default privacy design to protect them from inappropriate content and ensure their privacy, safety, security. The company allegedly fails to provide a “searchable, reliable repository for advertisements” to users, “access to its publicly accessible data” to researchers under the DSA.

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