The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") has
ruled that companies that embed the Facebook "Like"
button (the "Like button") within their website pages can
be considered as a joint data controller within the meaning of the
General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), alongside
Facebook, in respect of the collection and transmission to Facebook
of the personal data concerned.
The case facts
In 2015, German consumer protection body, Verbraucherzentrale,
took action against German online fashion retailer, Fashion ID, for
breaching personal data protection rules for its use of the Like
button on its site.
Through the embedded Like button, the personal data of every
visitor to Fashion ID's website was transmitted to Facebook
Ireland (the data controller for Facebook's European users).
The transmission was without their knowledge and regardless of
whether or not the visitor clicked on the button or was a Facebook
member. Verbraucherzentrale brought legal
