Data privacy: Facebook halts lawsuit against Dutch watchdog

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (CBP) and Facebook cease their ongoing legal battle, as both parties reported earlier this week. CBP recently imposed a conditional penalty on Facebook for not sharing all information that the agency required for an investigation of privacy violation.

Facebook, in turn, started legal proceedings against the CBP, because the company believes the Dutch regulator does not have the authority to investigate privacy conditions across European countries. The Facebook European headquarters are located in Ireland placing the company under jurisdiction of that country.

Both parties ceased their legal proceedings. Facebook agreed to provide CBP with the additional information that the authority required. Once the information is received, CBP will determine whether it is sufficient and then decide on annulling the sanction against Facebook.

"We are looking forward to taking CBP's concerns away, and we are pleased that we can continue the discussion outside of the courtroom," a spokesperson for the company said.

Facebook changed its privacy policy earlier this year, through which it became clearer what the company does with users' data. Several European regulators commenced an investigation against the company.