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 ON 12 MAY 2022)
Dated the 29th day of September 2023
Data Protection Commission
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2, Ireland
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Background
1. On 9 November 2022, (“the Data Subject”) lodged a complaint pursuant to
Article 77 of the 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) of the
GDPR.
The Complaint
3. The details of the complaint were as follows:
a. The Data Subject contacted the Respondent on 11 October 2022, after an
unauthorised payment transaction occurred on a credit card that had been associated
with their profile on the Respondent’s platform. According to the Data Subject while
they were of the view that they had previously deleted the credit card details from
the platform, the Respondent’s support team had informed them that the credit card
details were still stored in their system. Therefore, on 11 October 2022, the Data
Subject requested erasure of their account, including the business manager feature
linked to the account, and all associated personal data from the Respondent’s
Facebook platform.
b. On 14 October 2022, the Respondent replied to the Data Subject, referring them to
its self-deletion tool as a means for the Data Subject to delete the data. On the same
day, the Data Subject replied to the Respondent stating that they had encountered
difficulties when attempting to delete the business manager feature linked to the
Facebook account and as such were unable to use the Respondent’s self-deletion tool
to obtain erasure of their account and associated personal data.
c. In response, the Respondent referred the Data Subject to its Business Support Team.
When engaging with the Respondent’s Business Support Team, the Data Subject was
allegedly informed that the business manager feature could not be deleted due to a
technical issue. As such, the Data Subject’s erasure request could not be fully
complied with.
d. As the Data Subject was not satisfied with the actions taken by the Respondent, they
lodged a complaint with the DPC.
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
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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).
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, it was established that the erasure of the
personal data through the self-deletion tools was not possible due to a configuration of the
Data Subject’s Facebook account, which impacted the business manager feature and the
‘Pixel’ settings on the account. In the circumstances, and as a means to achieve amicable
resolution, the Respondent agreed that it would manually delete the business manager
feature on the account. The Respondent advised the DPC that by deleting the business
manager feature, the Data Subject would be able to use the Respondent’s self-serve tools to
schedule the deletion of their Facebook account.
8. On 4 May 2023, the Respondent confirmed that it had manually deleted the Data Subject’s
business manager feature on 13 April 2023. On the same day, the DPC advised the Data
Subject of the action taken by the Respondent.
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9. On 5 May 2023, the Data Subject responded to the DPC’s letter, highlighting that they had
attempted to use the self-serve deletion tool and had encountered an error message, which
prevented them from deleting their account.
10. The DPC corresponded further with the Respondent in order to bring about an amicable
resolution to the complaint. On 2 June 2023, the Respondent requested that the Data Subject
provide it with screenshots and a detailed description of the specific error(s) they had
encountered when utilising the self-serve deletion tools, so that the Respondent could
investigate the issue. Subsequently, the DPC conveyed this request to the Data Subject on 6
June 2023.
11. On 6 June 2023, the Data Subject responded, refusing to provide the information requested
by the Respondent and requested that the Respondent comply with their erasure request by
deleting all the Data Subject’s personal data from its platform.
12. The DPC continued to engage with the Respondent and resulting from this engagement, on
23 June 2023, the Respondent advised the DPC that, in the spirit of amicable resolution, it had
scheduled the Data Subject’s Facebook account for permanent deletion.
13. The DPC’s letter outlining the actions taken by the Respondent as part of the amicable
resolution process issued to the Data Subject on 3 July 2023. 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.
14. On 17 July 2023, as the Data Subject had not replied and in light of the foregoing, the DPC
informed the Respondent that it would close the complaint in question.
15. 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
16. 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
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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.
17. 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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