London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Court criticizes German watchdog for imposing data collection restrictions on Facebook, as it refers case to Europe’s top court

Court criticizes German watchdog for imposing data collection restrictions on Facebook, as it refers case to Europe’s top court

A German court has effectively sided with Facebook, overruling a decision by the country’s antitrust watchdog that claimed the social media giant had abused its position to illegally gather user data.
The Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf referred a two-year case over Facebook’s data collection practices to the European Court of Justice on Wednesday, effectively reversing a decision by the Federal Cartel Office, Germany’s antitrust watchdog.

The decision is the latest development in a legal case that has been ongoing since February 2019, when the watchdog sought to limit Facebook’s ability to collect data from users without their consent.

In their ruling, the presiding judges declared that “the question of whether Facebook is abusing its dominant position ... cannot be decided without referring it to the European Court.”

Facebook has repeatedly appealed the ruling, which had threatened to have global implications and spark limitations from other governments that have floated the implementation of tougher regulation on social media sites.

The German watchdog had restricted Facebook’s data-gathering approaches by using an antitrust measure that claimed the company had collected the information in an “exploitative” way by using its position as a dominant social media site and forcing users to decide between using it and giving up personal data or not having access to a major digital platform.

The ruling had prohibited the social media company from collecting data and merging information gathered from users’ accounts on the site and other Facebook-owned services, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

Facebook’s business model openly relies on gathering data from users, which is then used to allow companies to target advertising more precisely. If the Higher Regional Court hadn’t sided with the social media company, it would have been forced, within 12 months, to allow users in German to refuse to have their data collected.

Prior to today’s hearing, a spokesperson for the Federal Cartel Office said that, if the judge sided with Facebook, the watchdog would “try to have it finally decided by the Federal Court.” Facebook hasn’t yet commented on the latest ruling, but before a court hearing last summer, it declared there had been “no antitrust abuse.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×