Irish data watchdog pushed Norwegian citizen to settle privacy case with Meta – EUobserver

Rights groups are appalled at data regulators backing Meta in yet another case of a privacy breach.

A Norwegian citizen lodged a complaint in 2024 against Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, for the processing of personal data for marketing purposes.

The complaint was passed on to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), since Meta’s European headquarters are located there. In April this year, the Irish supervisory body for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) asked the complainant to settle with Meta.

The complainant refused.

The European Data Protection Board’s (EDPB) guidelines on settlements don’t allow for hush money to close a case when the issue affects a large number of data subjects.

Since Mark Zuckerberg’s tech giant started using a model in which those using the free-version of Meta’s apps had to deal with personalised adverts, EDPB has also stated that ‘Pay-or-Consent’ policies are incompatible with GDPR requirements for free, valid consent.

Due to so many big tech firms being registered in Ireland, its DPS holds the role of primary data enforcer for Meta. However, that hasn’t stopped close relations between the regulator and the digital giant, the most recent evidence of which was the appointment of a former Meta spokesperson for the role of Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland.

Read more<br>Outrage as Ireland picks ex-Meta lobbyist as new data protection chief

"How often has the DPC misused an ‘amicable settlement’ to gaslight Europeans with legitimate GDPR complaints about tech giants in Ireland?” Eoin Dubsky, digital rights campaigner at Ekō, a corporate watchdog NGO, told EUobserver.

“It looks like the Data Protection Commission will only uphold our rights once all other options have been exhausted."

Meta faced a €200m fine by the European Commission in 2025 for not providing the “choice of a service that uses less of their personal data.” Meta has appealed the fine.

EDPB and Ireland’s DPC did not respond to a request for a comment in time for publication.

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Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta. (Source: Photo: Anthony Quintano)

Topics<br>Big Tech+ Follow topic by email<br>Digital+ Follow topic by email<br>Author Bio<br>Gaia Neiman is a junior migration and politics reporter at the EUobserver. She has previously written for Reuters, The Guardian, The Telegraph, among others.<br>+ Follow author by email