62020TO0451(01)_INF
Order of the President of the General Court of 29 October 2020 –Facebook Ireland v Commission
(Case T‑451/20 R)
(Interim proceedings – Competition – Request for information – Article 18(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 – Application for interim measures – Urgency – Prima facie case – Weighing of competing interests)
1.
Application for interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Prima facie case – Urgency – Serious and irreparable damage – Cumulative nature – Balancing of all the interests involved
(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU)
(see paras 23, 24)
2.
Application for interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Conditions for granting – Prima facie case – Prima facie examination of the pleas in law put forward in support of the main action – Action against a decision of the Commission ordering that a certain number of documents be provided – Pleas alleging infringement of the principle of necessity and the right to privacy – Pleas not prima facie unfounded
(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 7; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))
(see paras 30, 53, 68, 69)
3.
Competition – Administrative procedure – Request for information – Indication of the legal basis and the purpose of the request – Requirement of a necessary link between the information requested and the infringement investigated – Commission’s margin of discretion – Judicial review – Scope
(Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))
(see paras 36-52)
4.
Competition – Administrative procedure – Request for information – Invasion of privacy – Whether permissible – Conditions
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 7; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))
(see paras 54-67)
5.
Application for interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Serious and irreparable damage – Burden of proof borne by the party seeking the interim measure – Risk of fundamental rights being undermined – Not sufficient to constitute serious damage – Assessment according to the circumstances of the case – Damage related to the disclosure of sensitive personal data of natural persons
(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 7; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 156(3))
(see paras 70, 71, 73-75, 82-94, 114)
6.
Application for interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Conditions for granting – Balancing of all the interests involved – Suspension of operation of a decision of the Commission ordering the transfer of documents likely to contain sensitive personal data – Balancing the public interest of the Commission in preserving the effectiveness of EU competition rules with the interest in protecting the right to privacy of natural persons – Introduction of an ad hoc procedure for the examination of documents likely to contain sensitive personal data
(Art. 278 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 7; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))
(see paras 115-120)
Re:
Application under Articles 278 and 279 TFEU seeking the suspension of operation of Decision C(2020) 3011 final of the European Commission of 4 May 2020 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 18(3) and Article 24(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (Case AT.40628 – Facebook Data-related practices).
Operative part
1.
The operation of Article 1 of Decision C(2020) 3011 final of the European Commission of 4 May 2020 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 18(3) and Article 24(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (Case AT.40628 – Facebook Data-related practices) is suspended, in so far as the obligation set out therein relates to documents which are not linked to Facebook Ireland Ltd’s business activities and which contain sensitive personal data, and for as long as the procedure referred to in point 2 has not been put in place.
2.
Facebook Ireland shall identify the documents containing the data referred to in point 1 and transmit them to the Commission on a separate electronic medium. Those documents shall then be placed in a virtual data room which shall be accessible to as limited a number as possible of members of the team responsible for the investigation, in the presence (virtual or physical) of an equivalent number of Facebook Ireland’s lawyers. The members of the team responsible for the investigation shall examine and select the documents in question, while giving Facebook Ireland’s lawyers the opportunity to comment on them before the documents considered relevant are placed on the file. In the event of disagreement as to the classification of a document, Facebook Ireland’s lawyers shall have the right to explain the reasons for their disagreement. In the event of continuing disagreement, Facebook Ireland may ask the Director for Information, Communication and Media at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition to resolve the disagreement.
3.
The application for interim relief is dismissed as to the remainder.
4.
The order of 24 July 2020, Facebook Ireland v Commission (T‑451/20 R), is set aside.
5.
The costs are reserved.