Case T-183/23: Judgment of the General Court of 16 July 2025 – Ballmann v European Data Protection Board (Protection of personal data – Complaint against the controller of personal data of users of an online social network in the European Union – Article 65(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Binding decision of the European Data Protection Board – Complainant’s request for access to the file prepared for the purposes of the binding decision – Refusal to grant access – Action for annulment – Actionable measure – Admissibility – Article 41(2)(b) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights)
Date: 2025-07-16
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: access to EU information, admissibility, data protection, data-processing law, personal data, virtual community








C_202504754EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/4754


8.9.2025






Judgment of the General Court of 16 July 2025 – Ballmann v European Data Protection Board


(Case T-183/23)
                (1)

(Protection of personal data - Complaint against the controller of personal data of users of an online social network in the European Union - Article 65(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Binding decision of the European Data Protection Board - Complainant’s request for access to the file prepared for the purposes of the binding decision - Refusal to grant access - Action for annulment - Actionable measure - Admissibility - Article 41(2)(b) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights)
(C/2025/4754)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicant: Lisa Ballmann (Innsbruck, Austria) (represented by: F. Mikolasch, lawyer)

Defendant: European Data Protection Board (represented by: I. Vereecken, M. Gufflet and N. Peris Brines, acting as Agents, and by G. Ryelandt, E. de Lophem and P. Vernet, lawyers)

Intervener in support of the defendant: Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd (Dublin, Ireland) (represented by: M. Braun, H.-G. Kamann, F. Louis, A. Vallery, lawyers, D. Breatnach, B. Johnston, C. Monaghan, P. Nolan, L. Joyce, solicitors, D. McGrath, E. Egan McGrath, Senior Counsel and H. Godfrey, Barrister-at-Law)

Re:

By her action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks to have set aside the decision of the European Data Protection Board (‘the EDPB’), contained in an email dated 7 February 2023, rejecting her request for access, made on the basis of Article 41(2)(b) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, to the file prepared for the purposes of Binding Decision 3/2022 of the EDPB relating to the dispute, submitted by the Data Protection Commission (Ireland) (‘the Irish supervisory authority’), concerning the intervener, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd and its Facebook service.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Sets aside the decision of the European Data Protection Board dated 7 February 2023 in so far as it rejects the request submitted by Ms Lisa Ballmann, under Article 41(2)(b) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, for access to the file of the European Data Protection Board prepared for the purposes of its Binding Decision 3/2022 relating to the dispute, submitted by the Data Protection Commission (Ireland), concerning Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd;










2.


Orders the European Data Protection Board to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Ms Ballmann;










3.


Orders Meta Platforms Ireland to bear its own costs.






(1)  
            OJ C 223, 26.6.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/4754/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)