Background
1. On 16 July 2019, (“the Data Subject”) lodged a complaint pursuant to
Article 77 GDPR with the Polish Data Protection Authority (“the Recipient SA”) concerning
Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (formerly Facebook Ireland Limited) (“the Respondent”).
2. In circumstances where the Data Protection Commission (“the DPC”) was deemed to be the
competent authority for the purpose of Article 56(1) GDPR, the Recipient SA transferred the
complaint to the DPC on 18 February 2020.
The Complaint
3. The details of the complaint were as follows:
a. The Data Subject emailed the Respondent on 15 January 2019 to report a fake account
which had been created by a third party on the Facebook platform using his name,
image and associated personal information. The complainant wished for this account
to be removed from the Facebook platform.
b. As the Data Subject was not satisfied with the response received from the Respondent
regarding the concerns raised, the Data Subject lodged a complaint with their
supervisory authority.
Action taken by the DPC
4. The DPC, pursuant to Section 109(4) of the Data Protection Act, 2018 (“the 2018 Act”), is
required, as a preliminary matter, to assess the likelihood of the parties to the complaint
reaching, within a reasonable time, an amicable resolution of the subject-matter of the
complaint. Where the DPC considers that there is a reasonable likelihood of such an amicable
resolution being concluded between the parties, it is empowered, by Section 109(2) of the
2018 Act, to take such steps as it considers appropriate to arrange or facilitate such an
amicable resolution.
5. Following a preliminary examination of the material referred to it by the Recipient SA, the DPC
considered that there was a reasonable likelihood of the parties concerned reaching, within a
reasonable time, an amicable resolution of the subject matter of the complaint. The DPC’s
experience is that complaints of this nature are particularly suitable for amicable resolution in
circumstances where there is an obvious solution to the dispute, if the respondent is willing
to engage in the process. In this regard, the DPC had regard to:
a. The relationship between the Data Subject and Respondent (being, in this case, an
individual consumer and a service provider); and
b. The nature of the complaint (in this case, an unsuccessful attempt by the Data Subject
to exercise his/her data subject rights).
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6. While not relevant to the assessment that the DPC is required to carry out pursuant to Section
109(4) of the 2018 Act, the DPC also had regard to Internal EDPB Document 06/2021 on the
practical implementation of amicable settlements, adopted on 18 November 2021
(“Document 06/2021”), and considered that:
a. the possible conclusion of the complaint by way of amicable resolution would not
hamper the ability of the supervisory authorities to maintain the high level of
protection that the GDPR seeks to create; and that
b. such a conclusion, in this case, would likely carry advantages for the Data Subject,
whose rights under the GDPR would be vindicated swiftly, as well as for the controller,
who would be provided the opportunity to bring its behaviour into compliance with
the GDPR.
Amicable Resolution
7. The DPC engaged with both the Data Subject (via the Recipient SA) and Respondent in relation
to the subject-matter of the complaint. Further to that engagement, the Respondent agreed
to take the following actions:
a. In order to suspend the fake account in question for impersonation, the Respondent
requested a copy of the Data Subject’s Government ID to verify that the Data Subject
was the person named on the reported account.
b. Upon verifying point (a) above, the Respondent confirmed that the fake account in
question would be suspended and subsequently deleted in accordance with the
Respondent’s deletion and retention policies.
8. This proposal was put to the Data Subject who initially had reservations about transferring a
copy of his ID to the Respondent. The Data Subject indicated that they did not wish to provide
their valid government ID but would be willing to transmit a copy of an outdated or redacted
ID.
9. Following further engagement with the Respondent, the Respondent confirmed what ID
requirements it considered essential in order to verify their identity. The DPC forwarded this
information to the Recipient SA, for onward submission to the Data Subject, on 01 June 2021.
On 10 November 2021, the Data Subject provided the DPC with a copy of his ID, via the
Recipient SA. The ID was forwarded to the Respondent who confirmed on 30 November 2021
that, after reviewing the ID provided, the fake account in question was removed from the
Facebook platform on 16 November 2021. The Respondent also confirmed that the ID
provided for verification purposes would be deleted within 30 days. This information was
provided to the Recipient SA on 30 December 2021 for onward transmission to the Data
Subject.
10. The Data Subject responded to the DPC on 13 January 2022. In this correspondence the Data
Subject did not respond to the actions taken by the Respondent, instead the Data Subject
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sought to extend the scope of his complaint by requesting information on the third party who
created the fake Facebook account. The DPC replied to the Data Subject, (via the Recipient
SA) and advised the Data Subject that he would be required to raise this matter with the data
controller in the first instance.
11. On 19 May 2022, the Recipient SA confirmed that it did not receive any further communication
from the Data Subject. Accordingly, the complaint has been deemed to have been amicably
resolved, as the fake account which was the basis of the complaint had been deleted by the
Respondent.
12. On 25 July 2022 and in light of the foregoing, the DPC wrote to the Recipient SA noting that
the DPC considered the complaint to have been amicably resolved and withdrawn in
accordance with section 109(3) of the Act and that it would conclude the case and inform the
Respondent.
13. In circumstances where the subject-matter of the complaint has been amicably resolved, in
full, the complaint, by virtue of Section 109(3) of the 2018 Act, is deemed to have been
withdrawn by the Data Subject.
Confirmation of Outcome
14. For the purpose of Document 06/2021, the DPC confirms that:
a. The complaint, in its entirety, has been amicably resolved between the parties
concerned;
b. The agreed resolution is such that the object of the complaint no longer exists; and
c. Having consulted with the supervisory authorities concerned on the information set
out above, as required by Document 06/2021 the DPC has now closed off its file in
this matter.
15. If dissatisfied with the outcome recorded herein, the parties have the right to an effective
remedy by way of an application for judicial review, by the Irish High Court, of the process
applied by the DPC in the context of the within complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the DPC:
Deputy Commissioner
Data Protection Commission.
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