A court granted a data subject injunctive relief in respect of Meta's tracking activities on third-party websites and apps using Meta Business Tools as this lead to unlawful profiling of the data subject. Meta the controller is the operator of "Instagram". The controller is also the developer of so-called "Meta Business Tools". The data subject is a private user of Instagram since and claims that she regularly visits websites on which the business tools can be found.
Meta Business Tools are integrated by most high-reach websites and apps in Germany. The main purpose of these business tools is to increase and measure the effectiveness of advertisements from third-party companies on the platforms offered by the controller, such as Instagram or Facebook. As soon as a user of Instagram or Facebook visits the homepage of a company that uses such business tools, the third-party companies transmit " Standard technical data " e.
IP address, operating system, browser, if a touchscreen is used, language, date of access and " other personal data ", e. The average user cannot see whether the website in question has been equipped with a meta business tool. Instagram users can influence how the data received by the controller is further used by deciding whether they allow the use of "meta cookies on other apps and websites" in Instagram's settings. The data subject did not consent to the use of "meta cookies on other apps and websites".
The standard technical data transferred to the controller via the business tools are processed by the controller, by assigning the data to an existing personal profile identifying if possible and storing it, regardless of the data subject's consent to the transmission to the controller or to processing by the controller.
Other personal data is also stored and combined with any other data available about the respective user to form a personal profile if the user's personal data is stored in a database and has consented to the use of "optional cookies".
