On 4 July 2023, the EU Court of Justice (ECJ)issued its judgment in case C‑252/21 (Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, formerly Facebook Ireland Ltd, Facebook Deutschland GmbH v Bundeskartellamt) on the relationship between competition law and data protection, as part of the preliminary reference originating from the German Federal Competition Authority's (BKartA) restriction on Facebook's processing of personal data. The ECJ held that as part of the examination of an abuse of a dominant position by an undertaking, it may be necessary for the National Competition Authority (“NCA”) concerned to also examine the compliance of that undertaking's conduct with rules other than those falling within competition law, such as the rules under the GDPR. After recalling the principle of loyal cooperation between authorities, the ECJ clarified that if the NCA believes it is required to examine the compliance of an undertaking's conduct with the provisions of the GDPR, it should verify whether such conduct or similar conduct has already been the subject of a decision by the competent Data Protection Authority or, again, the ECJ. If so, it cannot depart from it, while remaining free to draw its own conclusions from the standpoint of competition law enforcement.
Originally published July 2023.
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