플랫폼 사업자의 개인정보 수집에 대한 경쟁법 적용문제 –Facebook 사건에 대한 독일 고등법원 결정을 중심으로–

Abstract

As one of the services through the Internet platform, social networks have recently gained a large number of users. In order to access such social networks, users should first allow the provision and use of personal information. The collection and use of personal information by social network operators is suspected of violating personal information protection laws in Germany. It was also a question whether Facebook's collection and use of personal information was abusive under the German Cartel Act(GWB). In this regard, in February 2019, the German Federal Cartel Authority(BKartA) decided that Facebook, the dominant operator of the social network market, violated the German Cartel Act(GWB) by exploiting consumer personal information. The Düsseldorf High Court(OLG Düsseldorf) made a temporary suspension in August 2019, saying, "Facebook does not have to follow the Federal Cartel Authority's decision for the time being.“ In June 2020, the German Supreme Court(BGH) reversed the Düsseldorf High Court's decision to suspend the collection, use and combination of Facebook's user data under the existing Federal Cartel Authority(BKartA). For platform operators, with the advent of the AI era, the use of personal information to utilize big data is essential, and for this, personal information must be collected. However, personal information needs to be primarily protected from the perspective of basic human rights, and therefore, the collection and use of personal information is subject to the problem of applying personal information protection laws enacted in countries around the world. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of competition law, it is discussed whether a giant platform operator collects and processes personal information generated by platform users, thereby increasing market dominance by utilizing big data to further enhance the platform's value. In this regard, the decision of the Düsseldorf High Court(OLG Düsseldorf) is a meaningful discussion related to the violation of the German Cartel Act(GWB), and it could also be an implication for the interpretation of Korea's legislation.