Today, Wednesday 6 September, Oslo District Court ruled in the case between Meta and the Data Protection Authority. The court decided in favour of Data Protection Authority.
In July, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority urgently imposed a temporary ban on behavioural marketing on Facebook and Instagram. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, asked the Court to suspend the decision, requesting a so-called temporary injunction. The Oslo District Court has fully sided with the Data Protection Authority in the matter.
– We are very pleased with the Court’s ruling and the result. This is a big victory for people’s data protection rights, said Director General Line Coll.
In its ruling, the Court states that the Data Protection Authority’s decision is valid, and that there are no grounds for an injunction. The case was heard in Oslo District Court on 22 and 23 August.
– This is a thorough ruling that provides useful clarifications. We are very pleased that the Court agrees with our assessments, said Head of International Section, Tobias Judin.
Meta put forward a number of representations in the case, including that the Data Protection Authority’s decision was invalid due to lack of prior notification and that the Data Protection Authority did not have a legal basis for its urgency decision. The Oslo District Court has rejected Meta’s arguments.
In addition to the court proceeding, Meta has submitted several administrative complaints regarding the Data Protection Authority’s decision. At the same time, the Data Protection Authority is considering bringing the matter to the European Data Protection Board. These processes are ongoing.
The official decision from Oslo District Court (pdf, in Norwegian)
The decision from Oslo District Court - unofficial machine translation to english (pdf)