Conseil d’État and the Google/Privacy Sandbox Ruling (2023): The Intersection of Privacy, Competition Law, and Administrative Law
We examine the standards the Conseil d’État set at the point where digital platform regulation and personal data protection intersect.
In 2023, France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’État, issued important decisions in several disputes related to Google’s Privacy Sandbox. These rulings are assessed as having redrawn the boundaries between privacy protection, the data economy, competition law, and administrative regulation. In an era of digital regulation, it is crucial to organize, in a logically structured way, what these decisions mean. In this post, we will lay out step by step the background, key issues, the Conseil d’État’s doctrinal reasoning, and the significance of the rulings.
Table of Contents
Case background: Google/Privacy Sandbox and the regulatory environment
Privacy Sandbox is a package of technologies and policy proposals that Google advanced to replace personal identifiers in the browser-based advertising ecosystem. The core objective is to remove third-party cookies while maintaining advertising targeting and measurement capabilities. However, there is tension between privacy protection and competition-law requirements, and disputes arose among regulators and stakeholders.
In France, alongside investigations by the data protection authority (CNIL) and the competition authority, multiple questions concerning the legality of related administrative measures were brought before the Conseil d’État. In particular, debate centered on how Privacy Sandbox affects privacy and data-protection standards, as well as the competitive order of platform markets.
Core issues: Privacy protection, competition law, and administrative regulation
Privacy protection and competition-law enforcement can often conflict. Privacy Sandbox raised concerns that, while reducing personal-data collection, it could strengthen Google’s dominant market position. French regulatory authorities reviewed whether related administrative measures complied with legal standards and constitutional fundamental rights.
The Conseil d’État had to decide by considering the balance between the right to privacy, freedom of competition and the protection of fair competition, and the procedural requirements of administrative regulation.
The Conseil d’État’s analytical structure
In these cases, the Conseil d’État examined the legal basis of the administrative measures, their procedural legitimacy, and the principle of proportionality. In particular, it systematically analyzed the risk of privacy infringement and the necessity of regulation, focusing on whether the measures were consistent with their statutory basis.
In this process, the court considered factual findings and technical impact assessments related to privacy protection and platform competition, and on that basis determined the measures’ legality.
Established doctrinal principles
In Privacy Sandbox-related disputes, the Conseil d’État clearly articulated a balancing principle among privacy protection, compliance with competition law, and administrative regulation. A doctrinal standard was established that administrative measures must reconcile personal-data protection and competition only within the minimum scope of restriction.
It also emphasized the proportionality principle: by comprehensively reviewing the legal effects of technical measures and their platform impact, administrative authorities may not impose excessive restrictions without reasonable grounds.
Impact after the ruling and digital regulation
After these rulings, digital platform regulation in France and across the EU gained clearer standards for reviewing privacy protection and competition-law compliance when introducing technologies similar to Privacy Sandbox. Administrative authorities must design regulation in line with proportionality and the principle of minimum restriction.
| Area | Changes after the ruling |
|---|---|
| Privacy protection | Stronger data-minimization principles and stronger oversight by administrative authorities |
| Competition-law compliance | Stronger obligations to assess dominant-market impacts |
| Administrative regulation | Application of proportionality and minimum-restriction principles |
Constitutional and doctrinal significance
The Conseil d’État’s rulings clarified the balance between privacy protection and the competitive order of platform markets in a digital environment. As a result, French administrative law doctrinally established regulatory standards related to the adoption of digital technologies.
- Establishment of a balancing principle between privacy protection and competition-law compliance
- Application of proportionality and minimum-restriction principles in administrative regulation
- Provision of doctrinal standards for digital regulation and platform policy
- A precedent for interpreting French administrative law in the digital domain
FAQ on the Conseil d’État’s Google/Privacy Sandbox Rulings
Are the administrative measures related to Privacy Sandbox lawful?
The Conseil d’État confirmed that such measures may be lawful if they comply with the principle of proportionality and the principle of minimum restriction.
What does this ruling mean for privacy protection?
It strengthened data minimization and protection standards, making clear that privacy protection is a core element of digital platform regulation.
How are conflicts with competition law addressed?
Administrative authorities must conduct platform-market impact assessments and enforce measures while considering the balance between privacy protection and competition-law compliance.
What is the proportionality principle in administrative regulation?
It allows only the minimum restriction necessary to achieve the regulatory purpose; excessive or unnecessary measures are not legally accepted.
What changed in digital regulation after the ruling?
Platform regulation in France and the EU is designed around proportionality and minimum restriction, with privacy protection and competition-law compliance treated as mandatory considerations.
How should I describe this in an exam or report?
Explaining it in the flow of case background → privacy and competition-law issues → Conseil d’État reasoning → application of proportionality and minimum-restriction principles effectively conveys the key points.
The Constitutional and Doctrinal Significance of the Conseil d’État’s Google/Privacy Sandbox Rulings
The Conseil d’État’s 2023 rulings are important decisions that clearly set the balance among digital platform regulation, privacy protection, and competition law. They established the standard that administrative measures related to Privacy Sandbox must comply with proportionality and the principle of minimum restriction.
These rulings provide doctrinal standards requiring administrative authorities, when enforcing platform regulation and privacy protection, to maintain a balance between legal stability and rights protection. They are assessed as a significant precedent for harmonizing privacy and the competitive order in a digital environment.
Ultimately, these rulings offer a doctrinal standard to the fundamental question, “How should we maintain a balance among digital platforms, privacy protection, and competition-law regulation?” and they have become a core precedent for modern administrative law and digital doctrinal interpretation.
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