In the matter of the General Data Protection Regulation
DPC Complaint Reference:
IMI Reference:
In the matter of a complaint, lodged by with the Österreichische
Datenschutzbehörde (Austria DPA) pursuant to Article 77 of the General Data Protection
Regulation, concerning Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (formerly Facebook 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 ON 12 MAY 2022)
Dated the 13th day of December 2023
Data Protection Commission
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2, Ireland
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Background
1. On 4 February 2021, (“the Data Subject”) lodged a complaint
pursuant to Article 77 of the GDPR with the Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde (“the
Recipient SA”) concerning Meta Platforms 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) of the GDPR, the Recipient SA transferred
the complaint to the DPC on 4 August 2021.
The Complaint
3. The details of the complaint were as follows:
a. The Data Subject contacted the Respondent via registered post on 28 October 2020,
to request erasure of a Facebook account pursuant to Article 17 of the GDPR, that had
been created by them using a pseudonym, and which they no longer had access to.
The Data Subject provided a copy of their ID document to the Respondent as part of
their erasure request.
b. The Data Subject received no response from the Respondent to this postal request.
c. As the Data Subject did not receive any response from the Respondent, they lodged a
complaint with the Recipient SA.
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 their 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 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:
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, it was established that
the Respondent received the Data Subject’s erasure request on 12 November 2020, but due
to an administrative error, the letter was not routed to the appropriate team and therefore
not responded to. Furthermore, the Respondent requested that the Data Subject provide it
with a new secure email address, which its support team could use to correspond with the
Data Subject for the purpose of assisting them in regaining access to the account. The
Respondent explained that once the Data Subject had regained access to the account, they
could then make use of the self-serve tools in order to schedule the permanent deletion of
the account.
8. The DPC engaged with the Data Subject, via the Recipient SA, in order to obtain a new secure
email address. The DPC provided the new secure email address to the Respondent on 15
December 2022.
9. Subsequently, the Respondent informed the DPC that a member of its specialist team had
contacted the Data Subject directly on 20 December 2022, 18 January 2023 and 16 March
2023 respectively. Within this correspondence, the Respondent offered to assist the Data
Subject in regaining access to their account, and requested further documentation necessary
to verify that the Data Subject was the rightful owner of the relevant account.
10. The DPC continued to engage with both the Data Subject and the Respondent (via the
Recipient SA) in order to bring about an amicable resolution to the complaint.
11. On 18 August 2023, following further engagement with the Respondent, the Respondent
advised the DPC that on 17 August 2023, it had contacted the Data Subject directly to assist
them in regaining access to the account.
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12. On 19 September 2023, the Respondent confirmed to the DPC that on 21 August 2023, the
Data Subject regained access to their account and scheduled it for permanent deletion on the
same day.
13. On 28 September 2023, the DPC wrote to the Data Subject via the Recipient SA, seeking their
views on the action taken by the Respondent. In this correspondence, the DPC requested a
reply, within a stated timeframe. The Recipient SA thereafter issued this correspondence to
the Data Subject on 2 October 2023.
14. On 11 October 2023, the Recipient SA confirmed to the DPC that no response had been
received from the Data Subject.
15. On 18 October 2023, 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.
16. 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
17. 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.
18. 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:
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_____________________________
Deputy Commissioner
Data Protection Commission
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