NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

108 NEWSLETTER 2019 Second Stage in Facebook File* Att. Mert Karamustafaoglu “The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Albert Einstein Introduction The popular TV series, Dark, begins with an Einstein phrase: “The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stub- bornly persistent illusion.” (Der Unterschied zwischen Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft ist nur eine Illusion, wenn auch hartnäckige). Recent developments within the scope of the Facebook file are also a revolution in terms of competition law and data protection law. The debates on today’s agenda will determine the changing content of the future digital economy, big data, and competition law. With the decision of the Federal German Cartel Office (“Cartel Office”) dated 06.02.2019, Facebook’s data collection activities were thoroughly examined. The Cartel Office found that Facebook domi- nated the Federal German market in terms of social media platforms, and detected that it abused its dominant position in the scope of data collection activities. Therefore, an issue that could be subject to data protection law has also been considered as a competition law problem. This resulted in a new type of violation in terms of competition law. The Facebook Decision of the Cartel Office In accordance with the general terms and conditions provided by Facebook, users could only benefit from the social networking ser- vices provided by the undertaking on the condition that they accept the Facebook data processing policy. In addition to users’ data, such as * Article of September 2019