UNABHäNGIGES LANDESZENTRUM FüR DATENSCHUTZ SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN v. WIRTSCHAFTSAKADEMIE SCHLESWIG-HOLDSTEIN GmbH
Territorial Scope / Concept of “establishment”: Facebook Germany is responsible for promoting and selling advertising space and carries on activities addressed to persons residing in Germany. Given that a social network such as Facebook generates a substantial part of its income from advertisements posted on the web pages set up and accessed by users, and given that Facebook’s establishment in Germany is intended to ensure the promotion and sale in Germany of advertising space that makes Faceboo
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References
- Google LLC, venant aux droits de Google Inc. v Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL)
- Art. 4(1)
- Art. 28(1)
- UNABHäNGIGES LANDESZENTRUM FüR DATENSCHUTZ SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN v. WIRTSCHAFTSAKADEMIE SCHLESWIG-HOLDSTEIN GmbH
- Fashion ID GmbH & Co. KG v Verbraucherzentrale NRW eV
- Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz v Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein
- Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 8 December 2022.#TU and RE v Google LLC.#Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof.#Reference for a preliminary ruling – Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data – Directive 95/46/EC – Article 12(b) – Point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 14 – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Article 17(3)(a) – Operator of an internet search engine – Research carried out on the basis of a person’s name – Displaying a l
- Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz v Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein
- Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 28 July 2016.#Verein für Konsumenteninformation v Amazon EU Sàrl.#Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof.#Reference for a preliminary ruling — Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Regulations (EC) No 864/2007 and (EC) No 593/2008 — Consumer protection — Directive 93/13/EEC — Data protection — Directive 95/46/EC — Online sales contracts concluded with consumers resident in other Member States — Unfair terms — General terms and co
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Next, it must be pointed out that Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 95/46 does not require that such processing be carried out ‘by’ the establishment concerned itself, but only that it be carried out ‘in the context of the activities of’ the establishment (judgment of
In the present case, the order for reference and the written observations submitted by Facebook Ireland show that Facebook Germany is responsible for promoting and selling advertising space and carries on activities addressed to persons residing in Germany.
As noted in paragraphs 33 and 34 above, the processing of personal data at issue in the main proceedings, carried out by Facebook Inc. jointly with Facebook Ireland, consisting in collecting personal data by means of cookies installed on the computers or other devices of visitors to fan pages hosted on Facebook, is intended, in particular, to enable Facebook to improve its system of advertising, in order better to target its communications.
As the Advocate General observes in point 94 of his Opinion, given that a social network such as Facebook generates a substantial part of its income from advertisements posted on the web pages set up and accessed by users, and given that Facebook’s establishment in Germany is intended to ensure the promotion and sale in Germany of advertising space that makes Facebook’s services profitable, the activities of that establishment must be regarded as inextricably linked to the processing of personal data at issue in the main proceedings, for which Facebook Inc. is jointly responsible with Facebook Ireland. Consequently, such treatment must be regarded as being carried out in the context of the activities of an establishment of the controller within the meaning of Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 95/46 (see, to that effect, judgment of
It follows that, since German law is applicable to the processing of personal data at issue in the main proceedings in accordance with Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 95/46, the German supervisory authority was competent under Article 28(1) of that directive to apply that law to that processing.
Paragraph 12 of the Telemediengesetz (Law on electronic media) of 26 February 2007 (BGBl. 2007 I, p. 179, ‘the TMG’) reads as follows: ‘(1) The service provider may collect and use personal data for the provision of electronic media only where this law or another provision of law expressly relating to electronic media permits it or the user has consented. ... (3) Except as provided otherwise, the provisions in force for the protection of personal data are to be applied even if the data is not processed automatically.’ The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling
As regards, second, the condition