8 4. Relevant Factual Background 12.
The applicant, FBI, is a company incorporated in Ireland which has its registered
office and principal place of business in Dublin. It is a subsidiary of Facebook Inc., a US corporation. FBI provides the Facebook and Instagram social networks in the European region. The European headquarters and central administration of the Facebook and Instagram business in the EU is in Dublin. 13.
The DPC was established pursuant to, and for the purposes of carrying out functions
under, the 2018 Act, with effect from 25th May, 2018. It is the supervisory authority in Ireland within the meaning of, and for the purposes specified in the GDPR. It is the successor to the Data Protection Commissioner who was appointed under the 1988 Act (for ease of reference, where necessary, I will refer in this judgment to the Data Protection Commissioner also as the “DPC”). Although provision is made under the 2018 Act for the appointment of up to three members, only one member (known as a commissioner) has been appointed, Ms. Helen Dixon (referred to as the “Commissioner” or “Ms. Dixon”, depending on the context). 14.
Mr. Schrems, an Austrian national who resides in Austria, is a privacy and data rights
activist. He has been a user of the Facebook social network since 2008. 15.
In June, 2013, Mr. Schrems made a complaint to the DPC in relation to the processing
of his personal data by FBI. He contended that the transfer of his personal data by FBI to Facebook Inc. in the US for processing was unlawful under national and EU law. He requested, in essence, that FBI be prohibited from transferring his personal data to the US on the ground that the law and practice in the US did not ensure adequate protection of personal data held in its territory against the surveillance activities carried out by public authorities in the US. 16.
The DPC declined to investigate Mr. Schrems’ complaint, deeming it to be
unsustainable in law by reason of the fact that the European Commission had adopted a
