In the matter of the General Data Protection Regulation
DPC Complaint Reference:
In the matter of a complaint, lodged by with the Data Protection Commission
pursuant to Article 77 of the General Data Protection Regulation, concerning Google Ireland
Limited.
Record of Amicable Resolution of the complaint and its consequent withdrawal pursuant to
Section 109(3) of the Data Protection Act, 2018
Further to the requirements of EDPB Guidelines 06/2022 on the practical implementation of
amicable settlements Version 2.0 (adopted on 12 May 2022)
RECORD OF AMICABLE RESOLUTION FOR THE
PURPOSE OF EDPB GUIDELINES 06/2022 ON THE
PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF AMICABLE
SETTLEMENTS VERSION 2.0, ADOPTED 12 MAY 2022
Dated the 15th day of December 2022
Data Protection Commission
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2, Ireland
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Background
1. On 16 January 2021, (“the Data Subject”) lodged a complaint pursuant to
Article 77 GDPR with the Data Protection Commission (“the DPC”) concerning Google Ireland
Limited (“the Respondent”).
2. The DPC was deemed to be the competent authority for the purpose of Article 56(1) GDPR.
The Complaint
3. The details of the complaint were as follows:
a. The Data Subject contacted the Respondent on 16 January 2021 requesting access to
their personal data following an account disablement.
b. The Data Subject did not receive any response from the Respondent.
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 Data Subject, 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 their data subject rights).
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 EDPB Guidelines 06/2022 on the practical
implementation of amicable settlements Version 2.0, adopted on 12 May 2022 (“Document
06/2022”), and considered that:
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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 and Respondent in relation to the subject-matter
of the complaint. Further to that engagement, it was established that the Respondent was
unaware of the Data Subject’s relocation from Vietnam to Réunion Island, a territory of
France, and therefore their request could be handled as a European access request. In the
circumstances, the Respondent took the following action:
a. The Respondent agreed to re-enable the Data Subject’s account; and
b. The Respondent provided the Data Subject with the necessary information on how to
access and download their data.
8. On 27 August 2021, following engagement with the DPC, the Respondent outlined that the
Data Subject’s account had been disabled due to suspicion of fraud of which the Data Subject
was aware, but disputed.
9. On 15 December 2021, the DPC outlined the Data Subject’s complaint to the Respondent. The
DPC raised a number of queries with the Respondent in relation to the Data Subject’s account
disablement. On 13 January 2022, the Respondent responded to the DPC and outlined that
on 21 September 2021, it had informed the Data Subject that following further review and the
verification of their account ownership, it had decided to re-enable the account linked to their
email address. The Respondent informed the DPC that it had provided the Data Subject with
information on how to access the account and directed them to its ‘Takeout tool’ to download,
backup or export a copy of their personal data.
10. The DPC queried why the Data Subject’s original access request and subsequent
correspondence went unanswered. On 13 January 2022, the Respondent explained that, due
to the disablement of the Data Subject’s account and consequently, the lack of account
activity, the Respondent did not receive the necessary signals to indicate that the Data Subject
had moved from Vietnam to the Réunion Island. As such, the Respondent had considered the
account that the access request was made in respect of to be associated with a non-EEA user,
based on the information on its systems. Furthermore, as the Data Subject had contacted the
Respondent with an email address other than the one associated with their account, it was
not in a position to confirm the Data Subject’s identity, which is a prerequisite to fulfilling an
access request. The Respondent further explained that in June 2020, there was a sign-in
attempt from a suspicious IP address on the account, resulting in its decision to disable the
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account. The Respondent described how, as this was an account disablement that related to
suspicion of fraud or hijacking, on 3 December 2020 it had directed the Data Subject to the
account recovery process. However, the Data Subject’s attempts at recovery of their account
were unsuccessful due to the account not having recovery options (such as a recovery phone
number or recovery email address) which would have enabled the Respondent to
authenticate them as the owner of the account, according to its account recovery process.
11. On 4 February 2022, the DPC outlined its examination of the complaint to the Data Subject.
When doing so, the DPC noted that the Respondent had re-enabled the account linked to their
email address, and provided the Data Subject with information on how to access the account
and directed them to the Respondent’s ‘Takeout tool’ to download, backup or export a copy
of their personal data. In the circumstances, the DPC asked the Data Subject to notify it, within
two months, if they were not satisfied with the outcome, so that the DPC could take further
action. The DPC did not receive any further communication from the Data Subject and,
accordingly, the complaint has been deemed to have been amicably resolved.
12. 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
13. For the purpose of Document 06/2022, 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 06/2022 the DPC has now closed off its file in
this matter.
14. 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.
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Signed for and on behalf of the DPC:
_____________________________
Deputy Commissioner
Data Protection Commission
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