On 19 December 2018, the Advocate General (AG) delivered an
opinion in a case concerning Fashion ID and Facebook, which
considered the parties' status as joint controllers, under the
Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (DP Directive), when a social
plug-in had been embedded.
Fashion ID's website inserted Facebook's 'Like'
button as a plug-in, allowing personal data, such as the user's
IP address and browser journey, to be transferred to Facebook
regardless of whether the user clicked on the Facebook Like button.
A consumer protection association brought a claim against Fashion
ID, arguing that the use of the Facebook Like button was a breach
of data protection laws.
The AG's opinion focuses on four main areas. The first
proposal within that opinion is that the DP Directive did not
preclude national legislation granting standing to public service
associations for them to protect consumers. The remaining three
proposals are discussed further below.
