Meta's Wakeup Call, and Big Tech's New Reality?
Unpacking the Far-Reaching Impact of CJEU's Landmark Ruling in Meta Platforms v Bundeskartellant
Yesterday, Meta woke up to a very unpleasant Independence Day gift — another punishing decision from the EU — this time from the Court of Justice (CJEU). The case, Meta Platforms Inc, et al., v. Bundeskartellamt, C-C252/21, much like the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) decision released in May, addresses some of Meta’s core privacy and data protection failures, but with a new twist: this case was brought by the German Competition Authority, not the DPC. Oh, and it’s also not appealable.
It’s important to note that the Court of Justice’s decision doesn’t just ruin Meta’s holiday. For companies like Meta that build their profits off of our data, this decision will force a reckoning: the days of relying on a suite of legal justifications like performance of a contract or legitimate business interests to process personal data may soon be over. All hail consent as the lawful basis (!?!)1
The CJEU’s de…
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