The EU's highest court has allowed WhatsApp to appeal a €225 million fine for privacy violations. The decision paves the way for Meta to challenge other multi-billion euro fines and calls into question the authority of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). This is reported by Politico, writes UNN.
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This is expected to unblock a series of appeals where the EDPB overturned decisions by national regulators, and paves the way for WhatsApp's owner, Meta, to challenge other multi-billion euro privacy violation fines.
Tuesday's decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) relates to a 2021 decision by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) to fine WhatsApp €225 million for insufficient transparency with users about how the company processes their data.
The Irish privacy regulator initially proposed a smaller fine — between €30 million and €50 million — but its counterparts from other European countries disagreed with the Irish authorities' calculation and ordered the fine to be increased to €225 million.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that decisions by the board of European privacy regulators — which are technically binding on national regulators — can be challenged by the companies they concern.
"The EDPB is an unelected body whose decisions can directly impact businesses and people across the EU," a WhatsApp spokesperson said, adding that Tuesday's decision "confirms our position that businesses and users should be able to challenge EDPB decisions so that the body is fully accountable before the EU courts."
WhatsApp appealed the EDPB's decision in 2021, arguing that the board exceeded its authority by increasing the fine amount.
Tuesday's decision is final after years of litigation, during which a lower court — the EU General Court — previously dismissed WhatsApp's complaint. The decision also confirms the opinion of the Supreme Court's Advocate General from March 2025.
In that opinion, the court's adviser noted that at least ten other appeals against the board's decisions, almost all of which concern Meta, are pending before the EU General Court.
In its communication, the EU's highest court ruled that the EDPB's decision has "direct relevance" to WhatsApp, as it unequivocally bound the Irish regulator and "led to a significant change in the legal position of the company (WhatsApp)."
It is noted that the case will now return to the EU General Court for a decision on the amount of the fine and whether WhatsApp violated GDPR requirements.
The EDPB stated that it "takes note" of Tuesday's decision and is "ready to defend its decision on the merits."