Websites that use Facebook Like are responsible for the data they send to Facebook and will of course be subject to the same penalties under EU privacy laws.
The decision was announced today for an earlier lawsuit launched in Germany by 2015, when Verbraucherzentrale NRW, a German consumer protection group, demanded that Facebook Like be banned from the Fashion ID page of 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 group sued Fashion ID in a German court in 2015 in an attempt to remove the button or make administrators ask users for permission for data sent to Facebook.
The case proceeded normally, starting with a local court in Dusseldorf. It later went to Germany's highest court in Berlin, which, in the absence of any precedent, last year sought a formal opinion from the European Court of Justice. Unions (CJEU) before issuing the final decision.
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 the company's products on Facebook.
So since both parties can make a profit, then both parties should be responsible for data collection. This means that both companies will have to ask for permission from the end user, but also implement one Privacy Policy which states that data is stored in accordance with privacy legislation.
Today's decision is not binding. This is an official opinion that states how the Berlin court may rule on his 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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