Websites using Facebook Like are responsible for data that they send to Facebook and will of course be subject to the same penalties under EU data protection laws.
The ruling was announced today in an earlier lawsuit that began in Germany in 2015, when the Verbraucherzentrale NRW, a German team of consumer protection, requested the Facebook Like ban from the page of Fashion ID, a German online fashion store.
NRW argued that by integrating Facebook Like into its site, Fashion ID allowed Facebook to collect data from site visitors without their immediate approval.
The German team sued Fashion ID in a German court on 2015, in an effort to remove the button or make administrators ask for users' permission for the data sent to Facebook.
The case went smoothly, starting with a local court in Düsseldorf. He later went to the German Supreme Court in Berlin, which, in the absence of a previous convict, sought a formal opinion from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last year before issuing a final ruling.
Opinion announced today (PDF) and according to the Supreme Court of Europe, any website that uses a Facebook Like button or the like is responsible for the user data that is collected and sent to third parties.
The WEU justified its decision by stating that Fashion ID had a direct commercial benefit from placing the Facebook Like buttons on the website it uses.
The European Court of Justice stated that the presence of the “Like” buttons and the data collected through the buttons allowed for an increase in the visibility of its products companys on Facebook.
So since the two parties can make a profit, then both parties should have responsibility for data collection. This means that both companies will need to seek permission from the end user, but also implement a privacy policy that states that data is stored in accordance with privacy laws.
Today's decision does not bind anyone. This is a formal opinion stating how the Berlin court can adjudicate its case. The Berlin court may - or may not - use it in its final decision in the Fashion ID case.
Of course, the opinion of other countries' courts will also be able to use this opinion to adjudicate similar cases.
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