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 6th day of October 2023
Data Protection Commission
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2, Ireland
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Background
1. On 28 April 2023, (“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. On 12 April 2023, the Data Subject contacted the Respondent via its web-form, to
request the erasure of their account and personal data, pursuant to Article 17 of the
GDPR, after being informed that their account had been suspended from the
Instagram platform.
b. The Data Subject received an automated response from the Respondent, which did
not address the issues raised. On 16 April 2023, the Data Subject contacted the
Respondent seeking confirmation of the status of their erasure request. The
Respondent replied on 20 April 2023, informing the Data Subject that they could not
progress the matter further, as the Data Subject’s account had been disabled for
violation of the Respondent’s Terms of Use.
c. As the Data Subject was not satisfied with the response received from 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
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
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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, in its response of 6 July 2023, the Respondent
agreed to take the following actions in the spirit of amicable resolution:
a. The Respondent agreed to conduct a fresh review of the Data Subject’s actions that
resulted in the disabling of their account. Following this review, the Respondent
decided to reinstate the Data Subject’s account. The Respondent noted that as the
Data Subject now had access to the account, they could schedule it for deletion via
the self-deletion tool, and provided instructions on how to do so.
b. The Respondent confirmed that its specialist team had contacted the Data Subject to
inform them of the above action on 4 July 2023, and assisted the Data Subject in
regaining access to the account.
8. On 6 July 2023, the Data Subject confirmed to the DPC that they had regained access to their
account, and thanked the DPC for its assistance.
9. In response, on 28 July 2023, the DPC wrote to the Data Subject outlining the actions taken by
the Respondent and reminded the Data Subject that they could schedule their account for
deletion via the self-deletion tools provided. The DPC did not receive any further
communication from the Data Subject objecting to the amicable resolution of their complaint;
accordingly, the complaint has been deemed to have been amicably resolved.
10. On 21 August 2023, and in light of the foregoing, the DPC informed the Respondent that it
would close the complaint in question.
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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
a. 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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