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 Meta Platforms
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 9th day of June 2023
Data Protection Commission
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2, Ireland
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Background
1. On 25 April 2022, (“the Data Subject”) lodged a complaint pursuant to Article
77 GDPR with the Data Protection Commission (“the DPC”) concerning Meta Platforms 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 9 December 2021 requesting access
to their personal data. The Data Subject noted that they had attempted to access their
information via the Respondent’s self-service tools, but were not satisfied as to the
completeness of the data received.
b. The Respondent did not respond to the request until 21 April 2022. In its response, it
requested further details in relation to the request and directed the Data Subject to
its self-service tools for accessing and downloading their personal information.
c. The Data Subject was not satisfied with the time it took for the Respondent to respond
to their request and was further dissatisfied that they were directed to the
Respondent’s self-service tools instead of being provided with a copy of their data as
requested. The Data Subject considered that the data available through the self-
service tools was inadequate and incomplete.
d. Although the complaint was received by the DPC on 25 April 2022, the Respondent
continued to engage with the Data Subject for a period of time subsequent to this in
an attempt to address their concerns. However, the Data Subject remained
dissatisfied with the responses received.
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
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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:
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, the Respondent explained that due to an
internal administrative error, the Data Subject’s access request was not correctly routed to
the Data Protection team. On 15 September 2022, the Respondent apologised for this error
and noted that it had since been rectified. The Respondent also noted that, in order to further
review the request, it had now written to the Data Subject asking them to specify what specific
categories of personal data they believed to be missing from the data available through the
self-service tools. A copy of this correspondence was provided to the DPC for its consideration.
8. On 20 September 2022, and having reviewed the correspondence referred to above received
directly from the Respondent, the Data Subject wrote to the DPC rejecting the explanations
given by the Respondent. The Data Subject maintained that the data provided did not
represent the full record of data which the Respondent held.
9. The DPC further engaged with the Data Subject in order to establish the data they believed
was not included in the report. The DPC also continued to engage with the Respondent and,
on 26 September 2022, raised a number of queries regarding the data available via the
Respondent’s self-service tools and how such tools adhere to the requirements of Article 15
GDPR. On 14 November 2022, the Respondent replied to the DPC with a detailed response to
the queries raised. The Respondent explained the categories of information available through
its tools and explained how certain information not shared by a user can be accessed via the
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“Activity Log”. The Respondent also provided an explanation regarding advertisements
received through the Facebook service, which advertisements users see and why, and how
users can understand and control the advertisements they see.
10. On 9 December 2022, the DPC wrote to the Data Subject setting out the Respondent’s detailed
replies as outlined above. The DPC considered that the responses provided appeared likely to
address the concerns raised by the Data Subject in their complaint and proposed an amicable
resolution on that basis. In the circumstances, the DPC asked the Data Subject to notify it,
within two weeks, if they were not satisfied with the amicable resolution proposed 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.
11. 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
12. 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.
13. 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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