Fan pages jointly liable with Facebook – landmark of ECJ

Abstract

The ULD, which is a Data Protection Agency (DPA) of a German state (Schleswig Holstein), provided an order against Wirtschaftsakademie – a private training provider – to close its fan page on Facebook. The case went through the whole proceeding of Administrative Courts in Germany. All three courts decided against the ULD. Eventually, the highest Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) asked the ECJ to provide a preliminary decision, whether Wirtschaftsakademie is responsible for the data processing on the fan page. The ECJ decided that Wirtschaftsakademie is responsible for the data processing as a joint controller. Allthough, the decision was related to Directive 95/46, it applies at the same time to GDPR, which contains the same principles for joint controller.2 1.