Meta Platforms Ireland Limited

DPC (Ireland) case IN-18-5-5, decided 2022-12-31. EUR 210,000,000.

What the regulator decided

Meta Ireland could not rely on the contract legal basis (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR) to process Facebook users' personal data for behavioural advertising; the processing therefore lacked any valid lawful basis and breached transparency obligations under Articles 12 and 13(1)(c).

Primary source

Regulator-owned URL. Quote this in legal briefs and academic citations.

https://www.dataprotection.ie/sites/default/files/uploads/2023-04/Meta%20FINAL%20DECISION%20(ADOPTED)%2031-12-22%20-%20IN-18-5-5%20(Redacted).pdf

Archived snapshot

Wayback Machine snapshot of the primary source. Use this when the regulator URL might be refactored or expire.

https://web.archive.org/web/20260414181401/https://www.dataprotection.ie/sites/default/files/uploads/2023-04/Meta%20FINAL%20DECISION%20%28ADOPTED%29%2031-12-22%20-%20IN-18-5-5%20%28Redacted%29.pdf

ConsentMark interpretation

Operator-readable note on how this case shapes the ConsentMark scanner narrative. Not a legal opinion; cites the primary source.

Decision followed EDPB Binding Decision 3/2022 (Art. 65 GDPR) on dispute resolution. Cite alongside Article 5(3) ePrivacy when the substantive issue is lawful basis for tracking, not the cookie banner mechanics.

Verification trail

Verified by: donal
Verified at: 2026-05-22
Review due: 2026-08-20

Cite this case

Pick the format that matches where you are pasting. The methodology version is preserved in every variant so the citation stays verifiable after future methodology changes.

BibTeX

@misc{consentmark-precedent-dpc-in-18-5-5,
  author       = {{ConsentMark}},
  year         = {2022},
  title        = {DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-5 - Meta Platforms Ireland Limited},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-5}},
  note         = {ConsentMark methodology v1.3}
}

APA

ConsentMark. (2022, December 31). DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-5 - Meta Platforms Ireland Limited. Methodology v1.3. https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-5

Markdown

[DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-5 - Meta Platforms Ireland Limited - ConsentMark](https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-5)

Plain text

DPC (Ireland) IN-18-5-5 - Meta Platforms Ireland Limited - ConsentMark, 2022-12-31, methodology v1.3, https://www.consentmark.com/precedent/dpc-in-18-5-5