Meta Challenges EU data demands, Raising Privacy Concerns at Top Court
A legal battle between Meta and the European Commission has escalated, reaching the EU’s highest court with Meta fiercely contesting the scope of antitrust investigations. The core of the dispute centers on the methods used by regulators to gather evidence, with Meta arguing some requests are excessively intrusive and violate privacy rights.
The case, stemming from investigations launched four years ago, raises a critical question: what limits, if any, exist on the European Commission’s power to demand data during antitrust probes? Meta contends that the Commission’s requests have crossed a line, seeking details far beyond what is necessary for a legitimate investigation.
According to Daniel jowell, Meta’s lawyer, investigators demanded access to deeply personal documents, including autopsy reports of employees’ family members, children’s school records, and sensitive personal security details. “This type of aberrant, intrusive and disproportionate request should, according to our respectful submission, never have been made,” jowell argued before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Meta views these demands as an attempt to collect both professional data and private secrets.
The dispute extends beyond this specific case, possibly setting a precedent for the investigative powers of the European Commission. The central issue is whether the Commission’s authority is “effectively unlimited” or must be constrained by principles of necessity, proportionality, and the basic right to privacy.
A key point of contention lies in the keywords used to filter internal documents. Meta claims the commission initially requested approximately 2,500 search terms for the data case and 600 for the Facebook Marketplace case, resulting in the production of nearly a million documents.
Though, the European Commission, represented by Giuseppe Conte, disputes these figures. Conte asserts the Commission largely adopted keywords initially proposed by Meta following a 2019 decision, and maintains the number of terms used was in the hundreds, not thousands – a common practice among global competition authorities.
This appeal to the CJEU follows an unsuccessful challenge at a lower court and occurs amidst already strained relations. Last year, the European regulator fined Meta 798 million euros for linking its Facebook Marketplace service to its social network, deeming the practice imposed unfair conditions on competitors.
the CJEU’s decision, expected next year, will be pivotal in determining the extent of judicial oversight applicable to increasingly stringent regulatory demands. The ruling will clarify whether effective checks and balances exist to protect privacy and ensure proportionality in the face of expansive investigative powers.
