02/10/2026, 11:4302/10/2026, 11:43
In the dispute over a fine of 225 million euros for data protection violations, WhatsApp has won a stage victory before the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). The judges in Luxembourg decided that the messenger operator from California was allowed to sue against a decision of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB).
They overturned a decision by the EU court in the lower instance, which had not allowed the lawsuit. Now the EU court must examine the content of the case. It is not yet clear whether WhatsApp has to pay the fine.
The EDPB decision was the basis for a million-dollar fine against WhatsApp in 2021 for violations of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The company was accused of a lack of transparency.
Irish data protection officers are subject
The then record fine was imposed by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland, where WhatsApp has its European headquarters. The Irish data protection officers had to adhere to the EDSA decision, which, among other things, determined the amount of the fine.
WhatsApp then added further information to its usage rules, but sued both the DPC decision in the courts in Ireland and the basis, the EDSA decision, in the EU court. The latter was of the opinion that WhatsApp could only challenge the final decision of the Irish regulator in a national court.
The highest court in the EU has now decided: WhatsApp can also directly attack the EDPB decision. The company was directly affected by this, according to the ECJ.
The Irish authorities were unable to change the result. According to the Irish Data Protection Commission, proceedings in Ireland are paused until the decisions of the European courts are available. (hkl/sda/awp/dpa)