Can the government have a Facebook page?

Government agencies are increasingly active on social media. For example, they often have their own Facebook page on which communication and press releases happen with the purpose of informing the public and the media.

Meta (the company behind Facebook), however, has long been under fire in terms of personal data protection. The question therefore arises whether a government agency is acting in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) By having your own Facebook page?

The German Data Protection Authority (BFDI) already ruled otherwise and instructed the German federal government on Feb. 17, 2023, to delete its Facebook page. According to the BFDI after all, keeping a Facebook page is not possible without violating data protection regulations.

After investigation, the BFDI decided that the processing of personal data by Meta (Facebook) has no justification and that consent for the use of cookies on a Facebook page is not validly obtained. Whoever manages a Facebook page (in this case, the German government) should be considered a joint data controller with Meta and is thus jointly liable for violations of the AVG/GDPR.

The German government has been given 4 weeks to implement the BFDI's decision, but may also appeal.

This decision could have far-reaching consequences, not only for the German government, but for the entire public sector in the European Union (including, therefore, Belgium) since the BFDI's reasoning obviously applies to other EU member states as well.

Do you have questions about these issues as a government agency and would like advice from a data protection specialist? Contact us.