In recent legal news, the Oslo District Court ruled to uphold a ban against Meta Platforms (previously called Facebook) in favor of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet). The court supported the decision of the authority to temporarily prevent behavioral marketing on Facebook and Instagram.
The issue at the hub of this case concerns a provisional injunction against Datatilsynet’s mandate to ban Meta Ireland along with Facebook Norway from processing personal data for their behavioral marketing plans. These are mainly advertising tactics geared towards audiences based on their online activities instead of their demographic data and infringe on GDPR Art. 6(1)(b) and (f).
Meta and Facebook Norway retaliated against these imposed directives by claiming that the mandates were invalid and could not be legally directed towards Facebook Norway as it is not the data controller. They also claimed there was no proper notice or chance to respond before the decision was made. Additionally, they questioned the actual urgency of the measures taken by Datatilsynet by suggesting that they were not in line with GDPR regulations.
In stark contrast to Meta’s defense, Datatilsynet remained steadfast that its directive was lawful. It justified that Facebook Norway could be classified as an “establishment” of Meta Ireland in Norway and falls within the scope of the directive. Furthermore, the authority posited that Meta and Facebook Norway have been sufficiently informed about the situation and had been given an adequate opportunity to respond. The absence of appropriate action by Irish Data Protection Commission to ensure compliance with GDPR judgements resulted in the urgent measures, Datatilsynet argued.
The ruling found that Datatilsynet’s directive was indeed valid. The Oslo District Court resolved by agreeing that Facebook Norway falls within the ruling scope as an “establishment” in Norway. It ruled in favor of Datatilsynet confirming that the company had been sufficiently notified about the impending decision through previous correspondence. It also concurred that the urgent measures were justified. Consequently, the request for a temporary injunction was denied which disallowed Meta Ireland and Facebook Norway to process personal data for behavioral marketing.
Tobias Judin, the Head of the International Section at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, commended the court’s decision, welcoming the thorough ruling as it cleared up numerous issues. Meanwhile, Meta expressed disappointment and are considering their options for next steps.
The article discussing the court’s decision, cited earlier in this text, can be found here.