383 PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION Background Information on the Investigation The IE SA commenced a thorough investigation on WhatsApp IE on 10 December 2018. The investigation focused on whether WhatsApp IE had complied its obligations pursuant to Articles 12, 13, and 14 of the GDPR, both for users and non-users of the service offered by WhatsApp IE. Despite the fact that data processing activities by WhatsApp IE concerned data subjects from various EU member states, IE SA conducted the investigation as the Lead Supervisory Authority since WhatsApp IE’s single establishment was located in Dublin, Ireland. Consequently, the cross-border processing by WhatsApp IE triggered the mechanism referred as the “one-stop-shop” established under the Cooperation and consistency chapter of the GDPR. First, the Draft Decision by the IE SAwas served to the concerned supervisory authorities (“CSA”) on 24 December 2020 and a number of objections were raised pursuant to Article 60/4 of the GDPR. The IE SA evaluated the objections and comments, then invited WhatsApp IE to respond to the objections concerning the effectiveness of the anonymization process. Then, the IE SA reassessed its decision and served the CSAs. After receiving the comments on the revised decision again, the IE SA concluded that the authorities were unable to reach a consensus. Based on this conclusion, the IE SA invited WhatsApp IE to exercise its right to be heard on 23 April 2021 and proposed to submit the case before the EDPB. Finally, the IE SA commenced the dispute resolution process on 3 June 2021 and submitted the dispute before the EDPB.3 The EDPB adopted a binding dispute resolution decision as set forth in Article 65/1 (a) of the GDPR on 28 July 2021. The relevant article suggests that the EDPB shall adopt a binding decision in a case where a supervisory authority concerned has raised a relevant and reasoned objection to a draft decision of the lead supervisory authority and the lead supervisory authority has not followed the objection or has rejected such an objection for not being relevant or reasoned. The binding decision shall address all matters of a relevant and reasoned objection. 3 EDPB Decision, para. 4.
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