Why We Disagree With the Bundeskartellamt

Posted by Facebook News Room

Why We Disagree With the Bundeskartellamt

By Yvonne Cunnane, Head of Data Protection, Facebook Ireland and Nikhil Shanbhag, Director and Associate General Counsel

Today, Germany’s Bundeskartellamt (FCO) issued an order in the inquiry it began in March 2016. While we’ve cooperated with the Bundeskartellamt for nearly three years and will continue our discussions, we disagree with their conclusions and intend to appeal so that people in Germany continue to benefit fully from all our services. The Bundeskartellamt underestimates the fierce competition we face in Germany, misinterprets our compliance with GDPR and undermines the mechanisms European law provides for ensuring consistent data protection standards across the EU.

The protection of personal data is a fundamental right in the EU and everyone gets equal protections as part of the GDPR regardless of the size of the company involved. Over the past year, lawmakers and data protection regulators have put in place new safeguards over people’s information, raised fair questions about the practices of many companies, including Facebook, and initiated investigations when warranted. We support the GDPR and take our obligations seriously. Yet the Bundeskartellamt’s decision misapplies German competition law to set different rules that apply to only one company.

Popularity is not dominance. The Bundeskartellamt found in its own survey that over 40% of social media users in Germany don’t even use Facebook. We face fierce competition in Germany, yet the Bundeskartellamt finds it irrelevant that our apps compete directly with YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter and others.

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