The European Union’s top court is expected to rule on Friday in a case against Facebook’s parent company, Meta, over its handling of personal user data.

The European Court of Justice judges in Luxembourg are to clarify to what extent personal data, including a user’s sexual orientation, may be used for advertising purposes.

The case was brought by Austrian data protection activist Max Schrems, who has already won two major legal disputes against Facebook, which transformed data exchange between the U.S. and the EU.

In the current case, Schrems had filed a complaint with an Austrian court about Facebook’s handling of his personal information, including his sexual orientation.

The Austrian Supreme Court called on the judges in Luxembourg to interpret the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Meta collects digital data of Facebook users when they visit other websites and apps, which allows Meta to gather information to personalise advertising.

Under the GDPR, companies are obliged to adhere to the principle of data minimisation, restricting the amount and duration of data used for advertising purposes.

In addition, information about a user’s sexual orientation is subject to special protection under GDPR.

Schrems, who had publicly spoken about his homosexuality at an event, complained about Facebook’s use of this information for personalised advertising, as well as other personal data without time restriction. 

(dpa/NAN)