In the matter of the General Data Protection Regulation
DPC Complaint Reference:
IMI Reference:
In the matter of a complaint, lodged by with the Office for Personal Data
Protection of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia 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 2nd day of June 2023
Data Protection Commission
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2, Ireland
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Background
1. On 27 February 2021, (“the Data Subject”) lodged a complaint pursuant to
Article 77 of the GDPR with the Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic
(“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) of the GDPR, the Recipient SA transferred
the complaint to the DPC on 22 March 2021.
The Complaint
3. The details of the complaint were as follows:
a. In December 2020, the Data Subject discovered that their account on the Facebook
platform had been taken over by a bad actor, and as such, they had lost control of,
and access to their personal data. Following this, the Data Subject raised multiple
requests with the Respondent to have their account and related data deleted,
pursuant to Article 17 of the GDPR.
b. The Data Subject also asserted that they submitted a copy of their ID to the
Respondent, to verify that they were the owner of the account in question. However,
as the bad actor had changed the name on the account, the Respondent rejected the
ID submitted as proof of ownership.
c. As the Data Subject was not satisfied with the response received 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:
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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:
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, on 11 May 2022, 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 purposes of
assisting them regain 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. The DPC engaged with the Data
Subject, via the Recipient SA, in order to obtain a new secure email address.
8. On 20 December 2022, the DPC was provided with a new email address, which the DPC
subsequently provided to the Respondent.
9. On 5 January 2023, the Respondent confirmed that its specialist team had contacted the Data
Subject, using the new email address provided. In further correspondence to the DPC, the
Respondent confirmed that the Data Subject had successfully regained access to their account
and therefore could avail of the self-service tools to self-delete the account, should they still
wish to do so.
10. The DPC’s letter outlining the actions taken by the Respondent as part of the amicable
resolution process issued to the Data Subject on 9 February 2023 via the Recipient SA. In its
correspondence to the Data Subject, the DPC requested that the Data Subject notify it, within
a specified timeframe, if they were not satisfied with the actions taken by the Respondent, so
that the DPC could take further action. On 30 March 2023, the Recipient SA confirmed that no
response had been received from the Data Subject.
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11. On 3 April 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.
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.
Signed for and on behalf of the DPC:
_____________________________
Deputy Commissioner
Data Protection Commission
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