In Short
The Situation: An investigation launched in
2016 by the German competition authority was meant to determine if
Facebook was abusing its market position with its imposition of
"misleading" data protection policies.
The Result: It was concluded that
Facebook's data processes did abuse its dominant position,
thereby justifying "far-reaching restrictions" on the
social media giant.
Looking Ahead: Facebook has announced that it
will appeal the decision, citing the intense competition in the
region, and alleging that the authority had misinterpreted
Facebook's compliance with the General Data Protection
Regulation ("GDPR").
The German competition authority opened an investigation against
Facebook in 2016 to inquire whether Facebook was abusing its
dominant position in the market for social networks through the
imposition of "misleading" data protection policies to
its users. In a decision rendered on February 7, 2019, the German
competition authority
